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By Bill Altreuter

Yesterday morning, from out of the blue, I got a call from an old friend I haven't heard from since undergrad days. Out of the blue was always his style, and it was a treat to hear from him. His sense of humor often seemed under-appreciated in that time and place, and it wouldn't surprise me to discover that it still is. For instance, when Saul Bellow was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature he (my friend, not Bellow) wandered up and down the dorm corridor murmuring "Bellow, Bellow, Bellow...." When (finally) someone asked him what he was doing he said, "I'm Bellowing."

It doesn't look like anyone in the US will be waxing Roth this year. According to the AP the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy says that American literature is "too isolated, too insular". This seems a harsh assessment to me, particularly in view of the fact that every Swedish bookstore-- really, every European bookstore-- I've ever seen has been full of works from the US. I also think it is unfair to Philip Roth in particular. Over the summer, when I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Albany I found myself looking over their shelf of Roth. He didn't really help his cause with stuff like "The Breast", or "Our Gang", but that was a long time ago, and I would argue that his work in promoting the work of Eastern European writers should get him a second look. Truth is that Roth has has several worthwhile careers. I've said it before, and I'm of half a mind to send a copy of "The Human Stain" to the Academy for their consideration next year.

Full post as published by Outside Counsel on October 02, 2008 (boomark / email).