The 100-Year Anniversary of What is Generally Considered the Finest Novel Written in the English Language During the Entire Twentieth Century

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» The Roaring Twenties of the Last Century was a Time of Irrational Exuberance

Back in those days, Paris was the place to be. I am talking about, of course, the Roaring Twenties.

I am talking about flappers doing the Charleston at some speakeasy while Gatsby was living large there on Long Island across the pond.

It was a time of irrational exuberance, where anything seemed possible and the sky was the limit .. particularly so for the highly motivated individual who didnt mind hustling.

The stock market kept going up, up, up. It seemed like the new normal. If you didnt get in, then you would lose out on buckets of free money that everybody was getting from buying stocks.

» Ulysses was Published in Full Book Form on 2 Feb 1922

Ulysses, by the Irish novelist James Joyce (1882-1941), was published on a cool date » 2 Feb 1922, or 2-2-22, which just so happened to coincide with Joyce's 40th birthday.

I do similar things myself (with writing and publishing) with what might be considered a cool date.

So this makes me feel a sense of simpatico with him. An admittedly small part, but there are other things, too. Many others. Don't get me started.

Once I can feel myself sliding down these slippery paths .. then it can be difficult to stop.

» The Young Hemingway and Fitzgerald Must have Derived Some Sense of Inspiration from the Older Joyce and from His Impressive Wordcraft

Ulysses was published in full-book form in February, 1922. This was right about when Fitzgerald started working on Gatsby, which was published a few years later in 1925.

Hemingway published The Sun Also Rises in 1926.

My point here is to say that these young writers must have derived some sense of inspiration from Joyce.

These are all Irish boys. I have had nothing but outstanding experiences with Irish boys.

In February 1922, when Joyce was 40, Hemingway was only 22, and Fitzgerald was 25.

» Fitzgerald First Started Working on Gatsby a Few Months After Joyce Published Ulysses

Let's not forget that Gatsby is ranked #2 on that same list, right behind Ulysses.

That is a big deal. That is a big fucking deal.

It says here that Scott first started working on Gatsby in June 1922. That is 4 months after Ulysses was published. You reckon that Joyce's novel had any influence on young Scott?

» Young Scott was Trying to Impress Himself a Super-Hottie with His Wordcraft

Everybody knows that Fitzgerald was trying to impress himself a super-hottie of his own.

How much of a role, dear reader, do you reckon that Zelda played in the way that Gatsby turned out? .. kicking so much ass as it did?

I would argue that she factored in prominently .. in a motivational sort of way. I mean, Zelda had put the zap on young Scott .. back before he became the famous F Scott.

I can certainly attest, my friend, to the motivational aspects of the sparkling muse. I can feel it happening some time.

I try to figure it out logically, sometimes .. because it is such a cool thing. But it cannot be put inside a logical box. It doesnt work that way. Or, at least, not for me.

I am most aware and conscious of the raw and irresistible strength of this motivational thing that I am trying to describe .. I am most aware of it when I go back and read something that I wrote years ago.

This is when it seems new to me. Here is where it feels like I am on the outside, looking in .. as the reader does .. rather than from the inside, looking out .. as the writer does.

This usually happens while I am searching for something else .. and then something will catch my eye.

My first thought is "What?" So I keep reading..

And I will read something that will very much impress me. (I admit that sometimes I am indeed impressed with myself. I crack myself up sometimes.)

And then I will rest for a moment in order to ponder what I had just read. See, sometimes it looks very different from the outside looking in .. than it does from the inside looking out.

Very different indeed.

I don't want to continue any further down this self-impressed road .. except to say that right here is where I would find myself saying to the writer in me.

I would say, "Who are you, dude? Who writes like this? Who says things like that? Who are you really?" Many of these times, it was when I was trying to impress a super-hottie.

The voice of reason would come to me shortly thereafter and say, "Dude, you are trying to impress this girl so much than you are impressing yourself."

And here I would have to agree. Every time, I had to agree .. that I was indeed trying to impress a super-hottie.

I know that I have skills that a super-hottie can appreciate. I know that I have the stuff that she wants. Sometimes I will jingle it right in front of them .. to see how they might response to such provocation.

» The Gold-Hatted, High-Bouncing Lover

Here is the tone-setting passage found on the title page of The Great Gatsby.

Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry, "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!"

And of course, the book is dedicated to Zelda. I mean, who else?

The writer in me is naturally very interested in what it was that made these books so impressive to people who really know books.

For sure there are a myriad of factors involved, but you always come back to » the writer himself.

I find James Joyce an inspiring figure .. for a number of reasons. But primarily, for the way he makes the artist-in-you feel less alone in the world. He makes you feel less fucked up.

To be honest, I am feeling a little experimental myself right now. You know how I like to experiment with my writing, not unlike what Joyce did himself.

I like to try different things, too. Different techniques.

Sometimes I wax provocative. Every now-n-again, I might even dial it up into the red zone labeled 'danger.'

When I mix a batch that is full strength, this is where I often find myself thinking, "I wonder if these girls could handle this."

» We Should Probably Tap the Writing Breaks Here

So perhaps we should pause here, dear reader, and first check out today's cool date. (Ooh, I feel a recursive thing going on here.)

Now I know it would've been better had I grabbed this timestamp an hour earlier, at 1:22 to match today's date.

» Held Up Again by a Super-Hottie

But I was delayed. I was delayed by a super-hottie. (She knows who she is.)

She was telling me how it was my motherfuckin' moment, and how she needed an hour-or-so to prep me right-proper.

They need to take away your pain .. and give you the special vitamin that only they have.

I am talking here about the organic nectar of the sweetest kind that provides you with a vitamin that you didnt ever know you needed.

It is kind of a trippy thing when you get something that you didnt even know that you needed.

What can you say to something like this, my friend? Long story short, I am now properly prepped.

I am properly prepped to do my thing. I am talking about the kind of things that I do right after I say, 'Fuck it .. let's do this thing.'

This is the end of this page. ■

This theme continues here » Flirting with Industrial-Strength Talent as a Way to Inspire Me and Challenge Me to Up My Game (22 Jan 2022).

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