The world is abuzz today at the posthumous publication of a book written by a young Yale graduate tragically killed in a car accident. Is it necessary to point out that plane crashes and car accidents are tragic? But I digress. She was a child of privilege from a very wealthy family with connections other aspiring writers could only dream of. This is not to say she lacked talent, but the outpouring of praise for the neophyte novelist and playwright was premature, to say the least. It was tempting to conflate talent with achievement. Words like genius and brilliant usually arent bestowed on interns whose writing experience is limited to a couple of essays in the college newspaper and an unfinished play. Just out of curiosity, I researched the obit section to see if the New York Times had seen fit to publish an obit for someone about her age who was killed in a car accident many years earlier, As I suspected, there was no mention of him. This despite his being an internationally recognized musician whose genius and brilliance were already well established. Perhaps you have heard of him? His name is Clifford Brown. I leave it to you to google the young college student. Shes all over the news again, so it wont be hard to find her. Will we still be talking about her fifty years from now? No, but as long as the book sells, well be reading about her in the press. Theres something about unearned fame that is so American.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 09:17:55 +0000
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