In conversation with Martin Amis- Pt1: Crises and literature

[Brekhunov]

The 1 million number of dead has been proved wrong, and was even retracted by the journal that originally quoted it. And Amis actually digressed from the "fame from one morning's work" there. Because fame IS the goal, and a first rate book that expands on that aspect of terrorism is titled "Terrorism for Self-Glorification: The Herostratos Syndrome by Albert Borowitz." To book in fact goes into the real life suicide bombing that inspired Conrad's book "The Secret Agent."

[BexLOLZ]

your black stained teeth.

Tarred lungs, oh mister Amis!

Smoker M.Amis

[KarenMalone]

"These experiences have to make a three-year journey (roughly) down the cerebellum and the spinal cord to wherever it is your fiction comes from?" Dear God ... who will rid us of this trouble-free ponce?

[thaddeuslowe]

Did your mother have any children who survived birth?

[FolkieMacc]

I do accept to a point that you have to absorb these cataclysmic events before writing clearly about them, but Wilfred Owen wrote about the Great War whilst serving in it and died just before Armistice.

I think great art is often born out of great suffering and tragedy and the two are inextricably interlinked. Sorry to waffle pretentiously, but I'm reading Experience by M.A. at the moment and I find the Fred West/Lucy Prtington writing very moving and powerful.

[scotty123123]

"And I have in fact written several books."

Unverifiably boasting on the internet doesn't help your argument.

Swift wrote of the famines of Ireland 1720-7.

And Himmler gained immortality, why else would we be talking about him now.?

[patrickm433]

"the famines of Ireland 1720-7" I haven't heard of them. Perhaps you mean 1728-9? If so, Swift didn't write about it. What makes you think he did?

Himmler is known to posterity but Hitler, who gave the order (as Bin Laden gave the order) is better known. Why does M invoke the lesser figure of Atta for 9/11? Could it be because he wrote a "story" about him?

I wasn't boasting about my books: Blahblah had written, "Go write a book." I have written several.

Any more "arguments", trekkie?

[scotty123123]

He's talking about "a modest proposal", which satirised the callous, proto-utilitarian attitude of the english towards the famines in 1720s ireland.

[patrickm433]

So "the famines of ireland 1720-7" has now become "the famines in 1720s ireland". So, once again: there was a famine in 1728-9 but, a) "A modest Proposal" is not about it; b) even if it was it would go against Amis's point that Swift wrote about "the famine in Ireland" some time later. MP was published in 1729. Do the math and you get 0 years later.

Amis is ill-served by clunkers like you and Blahblah (whom I suspect, given your investment, may be your pseudonym) stepping up to "defend" him.

[brasilcork]

@scotty123123 'Ireland', should have a capital 'I'. The small 'e' for english is fine.

[scotty123123]

Sept 11 was a collective effort. The share of responsibility cannot be neatly divided up. Atta and bin laden were both prominent participants. Amis's point is merely that atta has achieved immortality through it, and the same is true of both hitler and himmler.

Nobody cares how many books some anonymous browser of the internet claims to have written.

What's a trekkie?

[patrickm433]

"Atta and bin laden were both prominent participants."

Bin Laden was the leader; Atta one of his lieutenants. There's a difference.

"Nobody cares how many books some anonymous browser of the internet claims to have written."

You seem to care; you can't shut up about it.

"What's a trekkie?"

A semi-literate nerd with his head up his backside who thinks that being a braindead "fan" of Martin Amis makes him an intellectual.

[blahblahhuh1]

Yeah yeah yeah. Everyone wants to shit on the brilliant writer. You're so tough. Go write a book.

(I say this with all due respect).