Homer is pretty nebulous, and his notion of being an author was different than ours. Basically, he’s the intersection between oral and written culture, consolidating traditional materials into a specific text. The Hebrew scriptures went through something similar, and the traditional authors of the biblical books perhaps inhabit the same plane of existence as Homer. The source of inspiration; the necessity of an author; the way our conception of these things has changed over time, these are interesting issues. I mentioned pseudoepigrapha recently, which are writings ascribed to some traditional author, but removed from the authentic cannon by modern scholarship. These texts are not “fakes”, but appeals to a patron source of inspiration, and may legitimately extend a particular cultural path.
On a tangent, Tom Moody’s Doris Piserchia page had me wondering about relationships between these matters and contemporary use of pseudonyms, both by writers, and in the construction of pop personae.
homer say what? oh sorry, i thought this was bills page.
A really low-rent pop-culture version of pseudoepigrapha might be fan fiction, or "fanfic." Here, the sacred ideas of such oracular figures as Gene Roddenberry or George Lucas are perpetuated by fans who write stories about the manners on Chewbacca's world, or Lieutenant Uhuru's years at the Academy. Often a science fiction writer creates a world or characters so popular that lesser writers can make a few bucks off them--I'm thinking of the Man-Kzin Wars books, based on Larry Niven's writings. Strangely, this copycat-ism may guarantee Homer-like immortality for genre authors, while more highbrow literary figures drop away; it's hard to imagine fanfic based on Saul Bellow or John Updike.
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On a tangent, Tom Moody’s Doris Piserchia page had me wondering about relationships between these matters and contemporary use of pseudonyms, both by writers, and in the construction of pop personae.
- alex 2-25-2001 10:39 pm
homer say what?
oh sorry, i thought this was bills page.
- dave 2-25-2001 11:02 pm [add a comment]
A really low-rent pop-culture version of pseudoepigrapha might be fan fiction, or "fanfic." Here, the sacred ideas of such oracular figures as Gene Roddenberry or George Lucas are perpetuated by fans who write stories about the manners on Chewbacca's world, or Lieutenant Uhuru's years at the Academy. Often a science fiction writer creates a world or characters so popular that lesser writers can make a few bucks off them--I'm thinking of the Man-Kzin Wars books, based on Larry Niven's writings. Strangely, this copycat-ism may guarantee Homer-like immortality for genre authors, while more highbrow literary figures drop away; it's hard to imagine fanfic based on Saul Bellow or John Updike.
- Tom Moody 2-27-2001 8:25 am [add a comment]