From the issue dated April 19, 2002
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A One-Sided Conversation With J.D. SalingerBy SCOTT McLEMEE"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it." So says Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. Generations of readers have experienced just that feeling of immediacy in their encounter with J.D. Salinger -- who does not, however, answer many calls. Letters to J.D. Salinger (University of Wisconsin Press), edited by Chris Kubica and Will Hochman, collects dozens of open letters to the reclusive author, submitted by scholars, fiction writers, and students. Mr. Hochman, who wrote his dissertation on critical responses to Mr. Salinger, is an assistant professor of English at Southern Connecticut State University. He participates in Bananafish, a discussion list about the author found on a Web site devoted to the book (http://www.jdsalinger.com). Q. Do you think Mr. Salinger ever regrets that Holden Caulfield made that statement about calling the author up whenever you feel like it? He's been in seclusion for more than three decades now. A. You can almost see him pulling his hair out. But it's part of a very intimate tone in his narration. Breaking though what Salinger calls "the membrane" is a rhetorical strategy that he uses throughout his work. It could be the best marketing ploy of all times: Tell people that cozying up to the author is cool, then withdraw and leave them wanting more. I don't think that was his idea, really, but it worked out that way. Q. The '50s, when Mr. Salinger published "The Catcher in the Rye," was also the era of the New Criticism. Students were taught to appreciate literary works for their language and structure -- not for the author's intent or the reader's response. A. Salinger's fiction is very affective -- that's "affective" with an "a." Readers typically respond to it emotionally, and to my mind that's a great improvement on the New Criticism. In his letter in the book, Frederick Busch [a novelist] says, "You, sir, taught us to risk emotion; to permit its very telling to be part of the story's action; to dare to love our characters out loud upon our pages; and to strive for clarity while respecting the mystery at the core of our characters, our readers, and our selves." That's at the heart of the whole collection. Q. Are plans under way to make sure the author sees this book? A. I have no interest in breaking through to the flesh-and-blood Salinger. Based on the response we got to the call for submissions, I know that this is a guy who's had readers tugging on his soul for a lifetime. It's hard to imagine him picking up this book with any gusto. I'd like to think he might look at it with amusement, though. In a way, the book isn't really meant for him. We're helping his readers communicate with each other. http://chronicle.com Section: Research & Publishing Page: A18
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Copyright © 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education