Thursday, January 28, 2010

Some Privacy Please

"Are you at all acquainted with squalor?"

The great author JD Salinger died yesterday at 91 of natural causes. He published very few works in his lifetime and is mostly known for his book Catcher in the Rye, which has sold over 60 million copies since its publication. The interesting thing about Salinger is that he stopped publishing his work around 45 years ago. He's been sitting in his home in a small Connecticut town for half of his life. The townspeople had agreed to keep Salinger and his secret safe. If any traveler should stumble into town asking for the great writer's address they would inevitably be pointed in the wrong direction several times until total confusion set in. It's really what you would come to expect from such a writer. His life and the surrounding details had become one of his eccentric plot lines. But he left a plot twist for all his followers at the end. I wonder if he planned it at all. With the exceeding rate and exponential growth of communication and vying for the spotlight, there was one public figure who was able to stay in the mind of America without saying a word. Beyond this, with his death, could it be that he will rejuvenate the life-blood that once flowed with teenage angst and quenched the thirst of generations. Yes, it is rumored that Salinger could have 15 manuscripts under lock and key. The big question is will they be published? Time will only tell. So, Salinger, I pay my respects to a man who lived his life doing what he loved for no one but himself. You loved writing and you didn't compromise your vision. You gave up a lifetime of fame and fortune, of great celebrity. A man who stayed true to his visions. But I am an anxious reader, I do still hope that you found it in your heart to allow us to see the growth of your genius. Though you will never receive the laud and honor.

"I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody."



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