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July 15, 2004
TT: An embarrassment of congratulations
Between "About Last Night"'s first anniversary and my nomination to the National Council on the Arts, our mailbox is bulging. Here are some e-letters that caught my eye:- "Congratulations on your first anniversary as a blogger. I've more or less been reading you from the beginning--I don't think I caught on right away, but once I figured out what you were up to, I went back and caught up with the first two or three weeks I'd missed. I was interested to see that you'd spent a happy afternoon scrolling through your About Last Night archives, not long after your post about not keeping keepsakes, and tossing out most of your old print clips. Is a dust-free, spatially invisible archive somehow different for you from a drawer full of yellowed clippings? Personally, if my scribblings are available online, I don't bother with a printout, yet I do still maintain a drawer of my older magazine articles and increasingly brittle newspaper cuttings--just in case I need them for quick reference, of course."
Well, "About Last Night" archives itself automatically with no additional effort from me! As for the old newspaper clippings, I feel considerably lighter for having consigned them to the recycling bin--but check back with me once I finish transferring my entire CD library to my iBook, which at this rate should happen early in the 22nd century....
- "My heartfelt congratulations on your first anniversary in the blogosphere. Hope you have many more. By the time I discovered your blog some about eight months ago, I had been a long-time reader of your essays in Commentary. It was your piece on David Helfgott -- you were, I believe, the only critic not to have been fooled by that spectacle and to have had the courage to say so -- that made me a permanent devotee. If your blog could have a sub-title, I would suggest: ‘Everything you always suspected about art but were afraid to say.' Those of us who have always loved Chandler, Sinatra and Mitchum and have not had much use for Brando, Larry Kramer or Phillip Glass, can now say so at a Manhattan cocktail party without feeling like we're committing a grave social sin. Thank you for that."
Somehow I doubt that regular consumption of "About Last Night" is likely to improve anyone's comfort level at Manhattan cocktail parties. As for the essay in question, "The David Helfgott Show," I made a point of including it in A Terry Teachout Reader. I'm proud of it--not least because more than one practicing psychiatrist wrote at the time of its original publication to congratulate me for my honesty. That's the kind of fan mail a writer remembers.
- "I am not sure exactly how long I have been reading your blog, but it must be a while now, since I recognized a number of the ‘greatest hits' you selected. It was interesting to read your childhood memories of being considered an egghead and an odd duck. I also spent a lot of time reading and following obscure topics. I can certainly relate to feeling embarrassed at being caught reading a book in public. And yet, I really didn't become much of an intellectual. I like some jazz, mostly stuff like Erroll Garner and Jimmie Lunceford, but am not terribly knowledge. Oh sure, I like Miles, but who doesn't? I liked Filles de Kilimanjaro and On the Corner, and that's rather suspicious. Let's face it -- I'm just much much more passionate and informed about hip-hop and soul music. I've listened to some classical, the basic stuff everyone knows. I like Charles Ives, but couldn't begin to explain why. I don't know anything about opera or ballet. There's a long list of great novels I've never read; on the other hand, there's a longer list of paperback mysteries I have. Point being, I find your blog to fill me in on things I know nothing about. Occasionally, things go over my head, but not due to your writing."
Whenever "About Last Night" has a high-traffic day, OGIC and I publish a pre-written posting for the benefit of first-time visitors. This is part of what it says:
Our interests are wide-ranging, and we think there are plenty of other people like us out there in cyberspace, plus still more who long to wander off their beaten paths but aren't sure which way to turn.
That's why we're especially pleased whenever we get letters like this one.
Thanks to all of you--and to all who've sent good wishes in recent days. Like I said yesterday, you are why we write this blog.
Posted July 15, 2004 12:01 PM
