Harlan Ellison Rude (and Lewd) to Fan, Film at 7:30

[The Newswire]

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[One Eyed Cat]

God I hate L.A.

Jackie T

[Donald Rilea]

Love Ellison's work, and have for years.

Still, it sounds like your latest encounter with the man kinda reinforces an adage I picked up a little while back about how meeting one's heroes can disappoint, so it's probably best not to meet 'em at all, or somethin' like that.

That's probably not entirely true, but, all the same, what a pity he couldn't have been gracious.

Some people's children...

Wish that he and others might remember this old saying, with a corollary of my own thrown on at the end;even a Cat may look at a King, and claw the Hell outta the old bastard, if he puts an un-wanted hand on 'im.

BTW, Amelia, have followed your writings via ******* bulletins for some time now, and I think they're quite good.

Thought you'd might like to know that.

[Amelia G]

Originally Posted by Donald Rilea

Love Ellison's work, and have for years.

Still, it sounds like your latest encounter with the man kinda reinforces an adage I picked up a little while back about how meeting one's heroes can disappoint, so it's probably best not to meet 'em at all, or somethin' like that.

That's probably not entirely true, but, all the same, what a pity he couldn't have been gracious.

Some people's children...

Wish that he and others might remember this old saying, with a corollary of my own thrown on at the end;even a Cat may look at a King, and claw the Hell outta the old bastard, if he puts an un-wanted hand on 'im.

BTW, Amelia, have followed your writings via ******* bulletins for some time now, and I think they're quite good.

Thought you'd might like to know that.

I first came across the idea of not meeting one's heroes because they will disappoint in a book about movie studio business in Hollywood called "You'll Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again." Ironically, although my brother had been after me to read the book for years, I finished the book and immediately thought she would be a cool person to know, and my brother had to point out that she had died just a few months before. Perhaps for the best, as I get to permanently think she is cool now.

It actually makes my job kind of difficult that I no longer want to meet someone if I really enjoy their work. Feels sort of backwards.

Oh, and thanks so much for the kind words on my writing!

[Malixe]

Harlan, Harlan, Harlan... H.E. is one of the first people who taught me that you don't have to like a person to respect their work. I've only met him a couple of times, and both times I thought he was a rude, arrogant asshole. Intermittently entertaining as well as obnoxious, but much more of the latter.

I grew up reading Harlan and still firmly believe that the man has his name attached to some of the greatest short stories ever written by anyone at any time. But as I've gotten older and my tastes have gotten a bit more sophisticated I find that I've gotten quite tired of the long, self-indulgent, self-justifying, egotistical introductions that he so loves to tack on at the beginning (and/or end) of his stories.

I still try to keep track of what he's up to when it occurs to me, but my take is that his creative well has pretty much dried up and he runs on the bitter juices of his anger at the world and his self righteous indignation about how it's victimized him. I agree that he's been abused and taken advantage of by some of the people he's dealt with, but on the whole he's done pretty well for himself in spite of being such a contentious jerk that he never could let a fight pass him by if he could pick it.

I'm glad for him that he's able to dine out on his name, and be indulged to the limit by worshipful fans. I could have been one myself at one time, but not anymore. I feel sorry for him for what he's turned himself into and I wouldn't want to meet him again in person if I could avoid it. But his books will always be on my bookshelf and if I ever had to pick a single favorite book out of the thousands I have ever read, 'Deathbird Stories' would certainly occupy a very high place on a very short list.

We all tend to forget it, but the creator is not the work and the work is not the creator.

apocryphal story-- Harlan encounters a tall blonde buxom woman in an elevator and staring her straight in the breasts (his eye level of course) he asks her "What would you say to a little fuck?" She smiles and looks down at the top of his head and replies, "Hello, little fuck."

[Amelia G]

Originally Posted by Malixe

Harlan, Harlan, Harlan... H.E. is one of the first people who taught me that you don't have to like a person to respect their work. I've only met him a couple of times, and both times I thought he was a rude, arrogant asshole. Intermittently entertaining as well as obnoxious, but much more of the latter.

I grew up reading Harlan and still firmly believe that the man has his name attached to some of the greatest short stories ever written by anyone at any time. But as I've gotten older and my tastes have gotten a bit more sophisticated I find that I've gotten quite tired of the long, self-indulgent, self-justifying, egotistical introductions that he so loves to tack on at the beginning (and/or end) of his stories.

I still try to keep track of what he's up to when it occurs to me, but my take is that his creative well has pretty much dried up and he runs on the bitter juices of his anger at the world and his self righteous indignation about how it's victimized him. I agree that he's been abused and taken advantage of by some of the people he's dealt with, but on the whole he's done pretty well for himself in spite of being such a contentious jerk that he never could let a fight pass him by if he could pick it.

I'm glad for him that he's able to dine out on his name, and be indulged to the limit by worshipful fans. I could have been one myself at one time, but not anymore. I feel sorry for him for what he's turned himself into and I wouldn't want to meet him again in person if I could avoid it. But his books will always be on my bookshelf and if I ever had to pick a single favorite book out of the thousands I have ever read, 'Deathbird Stories' would certainly occupy a very high place on a very short list.

We all tend to forget it, but the creator is not the work and the work is not the creator.

apocryphal story-- Harlan encounters a tall blonde buxom woman in an elevator and staring her straight in the breasts (his eye level of course) he asks her "What would you say to a little fuck?" She smiles and looks down at the top of his head and replies, "Hello, little fuck."

Really cool insight. I think it is difficult, both as an artist and as one who enjoys art, to decide where it matters what the artist is like and where it does not. The place where it becomes most troubling to me is when the artist's behavior makes his or her work seem dishonest and insincere.

More and more, if I really like someone's work, I am inclined to avoid meeting them. The number of times knowing a writer or a musician or a director or an actor made me appreciate the work more, rather than less . . . well, I prefer not to be disappointed, but it sometimes makes my job a little difficult.

[Donald Rilea]

Ah, the late Julia Phillips!!!!! Brilliant book, she wrote.

Too bad she ain't around.

BTW, the thing about meeting one's heroes, or not. Well, I figure that some of that, too, just might depend on when and where you catch 'em, and what mood ya catch 'em in.

Love Malixe's apocryphal story about Ellison and the blonde. Too good for words.

Finally, to Amelia, you're quite welcome.

[mrnonel]

Did you try offering Harlen a ZagNut bar? I think that would make him smile and make him be nice to you.

[Amelia G]

Originally Posted by mrnonel

Did you try offering Harlen a ZagNut bar? I think that would make him smile and make him be nice to you.

Tell me about Zagnut bars, their source and uses.

[Lady Alias]

And people think I'm mean.

[Donald Rilea]

Only time I ever saw a Zagnut bar in my life was a scene in "Beetlejuice", where the title character uses one to lure a fly down underneath a model of the small New England town where the picture was set, to have a little nosh on said fly.

Dunno how well it'd work on ornery science-fiction writers, though...

[Velvet-Tongue]

He sounds like a bloated arrogant asshole with a self-important complex.

Just reading your article I can picture him red faced, stammering in his mind how best to say the next rude thing. Stroking his half hard-on through his faded sweatpants as he mentally congratulates himself for his witty comments.