parents had hard time
convincing me he was no
kin whatsoever
I can remember that on the shelves at home there were these books by Thomas Wolfe.
Look Homeward Angel and Of Time and the River. Of Time and the River had just come out when I was aware of his name.
My parents had a hard time convincing me that he was no kin whatsoever.
My attitude was, Well, what’s he doing on the shelf then?
But as soon as I was old enough I became a tremendous fan of Thomas Wolfe and remain so to this day.
I ignore his fluctuations on the literary stock market.
From Tom Wolfe, The Art of Fiction No. 123 as Interviewed by George Plimpton, The Paris Review, Issue 118, Spring 1991.
Myself, I long confused Thomas Wolfe and Tom Wolfe.
I always thought is was the guy who wrote The Right Stuff who said you can’t go home again.
And I am not sure when it was that I got straightened out.
Even when I started working in a bookstore I wasn’t completely sure until I shelved The Right Stuff in New Releases and Look Homeward Angel in classics.
Then I got Thomas Wolfe mixed up with Thomas Mann and I seem to be forever paying for not taking a 100 best books class in college.
I always enjoyed Tom Wolfe’s writing.
I was always a bit amazed listening to his interviews and wondering how he survived long enough to write.
No Haiku For You 