Story (1944) bio and "end pages" (1 Viewer)

[cirerita]

Interesting tidbits here.

B. complained several times about being published in the "end pages," but I just found out that the "end pages" are actually the first pages. Does that make sense to you? Half of the story appears in the "end pages" (first pages) and the other half in the actual end pages.

 

[LickTheStar]

Much thanks as usual. Is this your "lucky win" copy that you've scanned here?

 

[cirerita]

yup. it's in pretty good shape -save the cover, which is kind of worn.

 

[hank solo]

Oh boo hoo! :D

 

[Father Luke]

Does that make sense to you? Half of the story appears in the "end pages" (first pages) and the other half in the actual end pages.

Kind of sort of.

maybe from his point of view it was "of " the magazine, but not " in " it.
The end pages being the front end, and the back end.

I can see his disgruntlement, sure.

Do you have Bukowski's actual complaint somewhere? It'd
be fun to read in perspective.

 

[cirerita]

He told that story many times in interviews, and I'm almost sure he mentioned that somewhere in his stories/novels. I bet it's also in the biographies.

 

[Father Luke]

ok.

 

[mjp]

This is not a complaint in his words, but you get the idea --



In Bukowski's 1975 novel Factotum, he describes the experience of his frst publication (calling Story's Whit Burnett "Clay Gladmore"): "Gladmore returned many of my things with personal rejections. True, most of them weren't very long but they did seem kind and they were very encouraging...So I kept him busy with four or five stories a week." On the subject of his first sale, Bukowski wrote, "I got up from the chair still holding my acceptance slip. MY FIRST. Never had the world looked so good, so full of promise." Upon seeing the story in print, however, Bukowski's ebullience disappeared. "Aftermath" had been placed in the end notes, and he felt Burnett had published it only as a curiosity. Feeling humiliated, Bukowski never again submitted anything to Story, and he cut back on his writing. It wasn't until the late 1950s that he resumed writing for publication.



I don't remember where that comes from...maybe Free Thought?

 

[Father Luke]

"I got up from the chair still holding my acceptance slip. MY FIRST. Never had the world looked so good, so full of promise." Upon seeing the story in print, however, Bukowski's ebullience disappeared. "Aftermath" had been placed in the end notes, and he felt Burnett had published it only as a curiosity. Feeling humiliated, Bukowski never again submitted anything to Story, and he cut back on his writing.

That's beautiful.

Of course it wasn't published as a curiosity. And of course it wasn't intended as a humiliation.

But I can see it. I can see the humiliation he felt.

For one thing, that is the first and last thing you see in the magazine. Quite a dubious honor. Especially for a first piece.

Perhaps, and I'm no shrink, but I do enjoy human nature, perhaps it was such a surprise seeing something he'd written in such favorable light, that the truth of being well received moved him back into his shell.

Help me with the chronology, but Buk had written where he "wasn't ready". That mindset was already there for him.

It's so much easier to say I hate, than I love.

Just guesses, of course. But what else is there to do. . .

 

[mjp]

Help me with the chronology, but Buk had written where he "wasn't ready". That mindset was already there for him.

I would have to agree with his self-assessment of not being "ready." Aftermath feels kind of amateurish to me.

I gave a copy of it to Carol to read some years back, and she wasn't aware of how old it was or where it came from, and she read it and just kind of made a face. "This isn't very good." Heh. When I told her it was his first published piece she said, "Ah, well that makes sense."

 

[cirerita]

It's an amauterish piece, whether we like it or not.

 

[roni]

I would have to agree with his self-assessment of not being "ready." Aftermath feels kind of amateurish to me.

True. It shows a LOT of Fante's ASK THE DUST in it!
(the writer who has this corresponance with his wannabe-publisher who's writing him kind notes instead of standard rejections. also the style in which his way of life is described...) Pure Fante!
He doesn't have his Own voice already.