I think it is somewhat weird that nobody put Twain in. I could also see someone suggesting Hemingway, although I don't buy it. Hart Crane at this point in time seems somewhat secondary, so that was surprising. The Tracy Chapman thing seemed seriously like a troll, I could definitely agree to a black Homer, but then I guess it would be Langston Hughes or James Baldwin as my choices. To suggest someone though who has t…
Who Is America's Homer?
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Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm Wheres the evidence that Homer work ed for the mythology of Dark Age Greece? If you say its his popularity.. (I would cite the Cyclics as counter evidence) For filmmaker: itd have to be someone whom you can imagine (unironically) reconstructing Adams or other actual American heroes So.. Tom Hanks
> Tom Hanks Recency bias? Why not Jimmy Stewart? Gregory Peck? Humphrey Bogart? Paul Newman, Robert Redford?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams_(miniseries)
And will be playing and producing Dodd.
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/joe-wright-in-the-garden-...
Theme of his oevre is not-so-immortal American heroes and heroism through and through
Except for Redford, the others don't have their own voice
Edit: but Tom Hanks is really only barely getting by from Hollywood getting less repressive over time
Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#113Edit: Someone below mentioned Ford, also a good pick
Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Twain is a good choice, but he also works against the mythology of America. His whole thing was popping bubbles and making grounded stories that work against the backdrop of Americana. Tracy Chapman is a pretty trolly answer, but I suspect the real answer might very well be a musician or filmmaker, not a writer.
> the real answer might very well be a musician or filmmaker, not a writer. Walter Disney, obviously. Well, it will probably take at least another century for the fact to hit.
Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#115Lotta obvious answers left off because this seems to be about poets specifically.
Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#116Some other suggestions are in the wrong genre.
Likely there are some native American bards who were nearer to Homer in spirit.
Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#117I think of Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick' as representing America.
Aside: I have been somewhat busy and maybe even too emotionally preoccupied with other stuff to help people here listen to their anger
The teaching-by-jesting is a difficult calling and I don't practise enough! At least not in fields outside my main interests :)
If you don't mind me asking, what are the topics that you do think deeply about? I'm not sure you write about these in the blogs?
Maybe my second interest can be codified as the study of
Making breakthroughs for humanity every man-week of doing, not "breakthroughs" for a few men every thirty man-decades of "thinking"
HN sometimes help, but it's been mostly monologue interspersed with some .. interesting moments such as theseRe: Who Is America's Homer?
#118Re: Who Is America's Homer?
#119These are the Holy Scriptures, and - like the Homeric ones - have multiple authors but lack the obscurity of ancient history to allow that latter fact to be subsumed into the story as a single, blind bard.