Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Pairie Mary on 2Blowhards

I love the interconnected nature of the Blogosphere, so it delighted me to see that my Blogfather Michael Blowhard (that term coined I think by Glenn Reynolds) has caught up with my "blogsister" (coined by Reid?) PrairieMary. He has some good things to say about "regional writing" there too. What are the limits? Am I regional? Ed Abbey? Tom McGuane? Annie Proulx? After all, she lives just as "regionally" as any of us.

5 comments:

Matt Mullenix said...

Steve I'm reading Annie Proulx's great collection "Close Range," a Christmas gift from my mom, who wants me to ask you how Annie pronounces her last name...?

Anonymous said...

From her web site, annieproulx.com:

How is your last name pronounced?

As if it were spelled Proo. The L and X are silent.

Reid Farmer said...

"What are the limits? Am I regional? Ed Abbey? Tom McGuane? Annie Proulx? After all, she lives just as "regionally" as any of us."

Is William Faulkner? All his major work is set in one COUNTY.

I made "blogsister" up, but after doing a search, it looks like a lot of other people made it up before I did.

I am enjoying Mary's "nanofiction." Sort of prose haiku.

Reid Farmer said...

"How is your last name pronounced?

As if it were spelled Proo. The L and X are silent."

With all the money she's making on "Brokeback Mountain" she can pronounce it any way she wants.

Mary Strachan Scriver said...

Thanks for the kind comments! It was Querencia that pointed me to 2Blowhards, so this really is a web that connects back to itself. It was Chas Clifton of (I think) the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment who connected me with Querencia. There are undoubtedly many other loops and ties.

The Jan 9 NYTimes Book Review has a photo of Annie P, who is VERY attractive! Also, some comments about how and why she wrote "Brokeback Mountain."

As for regionalism, it's like Hinduism: you have to define it and live it for yourself.