"You’d struggle to find a trio of European novelists — from the last 250 years, at least — to pit against Melville, Pynchon and McCarthy, or poets to pit against Stevens, Bishop and Frost, or directors to pit against Kubrick, Coppola and Lynch."
Really? You think Melville, Pynchon and McCarthy are greater than Tolstoy, Flaubert and George Eliot? Stevens, Bishop and Frost greater than Leopardi, Rilke or Yeats? Actually a strong argument could be made that America's most distinguished poet is T.S. Eliot and its finest novelist Henry James, both of whom produced most of their most personal and mature work in England. As, in fact, did Kubrick! And come to that (while, in the end, aesthetic evaluation is a subjective matter), I think Jean Renoir, Ingmar Bergman and Roberto Rossellini created richer, more complex, more mature films than any American director - much as I also respect and admire the grace, charm and beauty of the old Hollywood at its best.
Good argument! I almost put an aside about Eliot being American, whereas Europeans tend to think of him as British, but you're right about novelists. That said, just to be pedantic, "you'd struggle" doesn't mean "you'd fail"! I think the very act of rivalling European culture is impressive given American youth.
America’s the greatest country on earth, I say as an outsider. But it does exert a gravity on the discourse that’s disconcerting. I know of a talented Arsenal podcaster who can refer to ICE agents as deathsquads unironically but consider the exclusion of IRGC affiliates from US soil as a grotesque and spiteful action, a view that seems pretty standard across more thoughtful sporting media.
FWIW, I probably disagree with you on the Iran conflict. I like to troll pinkos by telling them the most antifa thing to happen in years was the decapitation strike carried out on the leaders of the regime.
This is a nice, balanced article. But...
"You’d struggle to find a trio of European novelists — from the last 250 years, at least — to pit against Melville, Pynchon and McCarthy, or poets to pit against Stevens, Bishop and Frost, or directors to pit against Kubrick, Coppola and Lynch."
Really? You think Melville, Pynchon and McCarthy are greater than Tolstoy, Flaubert and George Eliot? Stevens, Bishop and Frost greater than Leopardi, Rilke or Yeats? Actually a strong argument could be made that America's most distinguished poet is T.S. Eliot and its finest novelist Henry James, both of whom produced most of their most personal and mature work in England. As, in fact, did Kubrick! And come to that (while, in the end, aesthetic evaluation is a subjective matter), I think Jean Renoir, Ingmar Bergman and Roberto Rossellini created richer, more complex, more mature films than any American director - much as I also respect and admire the grace, charm and beauty of the old Hollywood at its best.
Good argument! I almost put an aside about Eliot being American, whereas Europeans tend to think of him as British, but you're right about novelists. That said, just to be pedantic, "you'd struggle" doesn't mean "you'd fail"! I think the very act of rivalling European culture is impressive given American youth.
America’s the greatest country on earth, I say as an outsider. But it does exert a gravity on the discourse that’s disconcerting. I know of a talented Arsenal podcaster who can refer to ICE agents as deathsquads unironically but consider the exclusion of IRGC affiliates from US soil as a grotesque and spiteful action, a view that seems pretty standard across more thoughtful sporting media.
FWIW, I probably disagree with you on the Iran conflict. I like to troll pinkos by telling them the most antifa thing to happen in years was the decapitation strike carried out on the leaders of the regime.