"Writing like Henry James (or, at least, a learning-disabled Henry James) helped Sarvas preserve the fantasy that he was not just a wannabe writer bravely dedicated to long-distance slander."
(Oohhhh, take that Corky! You don't like me so you're learning disabled! )
"...more interesting was Jim Ruland's introduction. He described Sarvas as a selfless champion of literature, a local hero. It was especially disheartening to see this, because Ruland was smart enough to recognize how little Sarvas actually cares for art, the extent to which his blog is an elaborate and indulgent plea for attention."
(His heart bleeds with pity and confusion - how could Jim Ruland, a 'smart enough' person, not recognize that people who don't like his writing are all bad?)
"At the same time, Ruland was running a reading series in Los Angeles, a town where books were a minor cultural curiosity that occasionally spawned depressing movies and, more often, sat on coffee tables, suggesting a certain intellectual depth and accenting the color scheme. His desperation, in other words, endowed Sarvas with some perceived power, which explained why he was on the bill in the first place."
(So clearly I cannot choose the wine in front of you!)
"What amazed me -- and still does -- is that none of the local lit trash at that bar had enough gumption, or plain old mischief-making instincts, to engineer an introduction."
('Lit Trash', consider your feedin' hand bit! But, but - will he say anything about the book festival? Was it fun for him?)
"I realize that I've said very little about the book festival to this point, and part of the reason is because I found it so depressing. I find all book festivals depressing, because we writers are so disappointing in person, so awkward and needy and choked with status angst."
(Oh, thank god.)
"Why would Goldberg -- an excellent writer and genuinely thoughtful guy -- offer such a comment? I suspect because he views Sarvas as someone who might help his career. The same is true of Jim Ruland. Even Dan Wickett, who appears to spend his life promoting writers, provided a forum for Sarvas' vitriol."
(Deeply insulting three people you profess to like in just one short paragraph: priceless.)
"As a side note, this dynamic is the reason the conservative movement now runs our government. Rush Limbaugh may be a dissembling fascist, but he knows how to connect to citizens through fear and grievance. In the absence of sustained moral courage, the demagogues win."
(There you have it. Blogs are responsible for our conservative government, the war in Iraq, 9/11, Katrina, Rita, bird flu, and herpes. All because one guy had the gall to not like another guy's writing and say so.)
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