Great Writers 1: F. Scott Fitzgerald

[LatinGamerps3]

I love Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby was the first real book i loved, and i never have looked back. Great video thanks. A 16 year old from NYC

[SystemJammer]

Great video! Loved the cynical swipes at the "masculine" writers (though I myself read some Hemingway and Mailer) ... I read THE GREAT GATSBY for my undergraduate degree and some Fitzgerald short stories.

[ahmedmaazouzi]

Thank you thank you... I read his great gatsby and I have really loved it... it was astonishing really

[beradification]

Fitzgerald wrote only one good book- the great gatsby, the rest of his work was mediocre. Just in the 20 th century there were tons of better authors... Jorge Luis Borges, James joyce, phillip roth, and gore vidals book golden age beats anything he ever wrote. Fitzgerald ended his life drinking and writing bad movie scripts.

[ZAN871]

@beradification You're and idiot. Have you read This Side of Paradise?

[PoliticalWeekly]

@beradification He technically got only one movie credit and wrote many more. He was only chosen to puff up the scripts.

[jjdynamite34]

Fitzgerald is the greatest author of all-time, hands down

[WheelsOfLove]

Dear sir,

Might I say this is a wonderful piece of video, I am doing Fitzgerald for my English dissertation at university. This has been awfully nice to hear, even more so for the readings its clear you have a passion for Literature, as do I

All the best

John

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@WheelsOfLove Thanks for your message. It is very gratifying to hear comments like this.

[BlameItOnThePenguin2]

Fitzgerald is a great writer. I'm starting to see why a lot of his books were based around wealthy living and the "high-life" now... It seems like it al comes from his own personal experiences. I especially liked the last passage from The Great Gatsby. I've always stuck with the belief that the best writing sprouts from personal experience.

[pamtime22]

You are right OldGrumpyGuy. I suppose people are really alike in their basic emotional makeup and respones are relevant to any era. But of course you have to realize that the hemlines were going father up from then on! Joke, joke, joke!

[pamtime22]

I love F Scott Fitzgerald's writings. His characters in his books and short stories were so real to me. Even though I did not live during the 20's, his writing is so informative as to the lifestyle and thoughts of of people during that time, like stepping in a time machine and going back then. Especially his introduction in the Great Gatsby that "the rich are very different from you and me." Amazing!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@pamtime22 The great thing about Fitzgerald's writing is its timelessness. His observations about life and the way people think and act have relevance in any era.

[mercop14]

You should read Thomas Wolfe, a member of the "Lost Generation." He writes in near poetry and is excellent. Look, Homeward, Angel is one of his works.

[toddadale]

Overrated? I think you need to read Tender is the Night

[ghostmanriding]

This is an excellent video,thanks for posting it.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@ghostmanriding Thanks for your comment

[ghostmanlostsoul]

He was good, but over rated. And Hemingway was also over rated.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@ghostmanlostsoul Over-rated by whom?

[moonshiny74]

@ghostmanlostsoul overrated? Fitzgerald is by far one of the most -underrated- writers of all time. Generally speaking, people are only familiar with Gatsby. And if they are familiar with Gatsby, it's by the name only; they've never actually read it unless it was required reading in school. If you throw out titles like Bernice Bobs Her Hair, Jacob's Ladder, Absolution, Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Camel's Back, etc. people won't know what you're talking about. Far from overrated.

[TheTopBloke]

Wow, 31,000+ views well done! I salute you and good luck on your mission!

[brianhogan2007]

i like listening to you read

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@brianhogan2007 Thanks

[norb1937]

I say there old chap. Do you bathe regularly or are you also a member of the great unwashed masses? You failed to mention Fitzgerald's The Beautiful And The Damned.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

@norb1937 Was that made into a movie?

[IgnominiouZ]

Would it be too much work for you add a list of all the movies that have been made upon the work of Fitzgerald? The movies I mean.

There are a lot of movie-literature gore that would thank you that information.

I hope had explained myself properly. English is not my mother language.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Tender Is The Night, The Great Gatsby and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story) are the only ones I know of. I'd love to see a good movie made of This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned.

[IgnominiouZ]

Thanks for the info.

:)

[polishdread]

F. Scott Fitzgerald is buried in Rockville, MD, 15 minutes from where I live. I read The Great Gatsby in high school and was unimpressed, thinking him a drunk with a love for big words. I now have a desire to go back and read novels that are in the classic section at the library, having plenty right now. Is Tender Is The Night your favorite FSF work? My all-time favorite American author from that era is John Steinbeck. That might change because I've never read Faulkner and will this year.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I was never moved or captivated by Steinbeck or Faulkner (or Hemingway for that matter) as I was by Fitzgerald. I'm not sure I have a favorite as far as his novels are concerned.

[fact0is0fear]

nice i was just wondering where you got that accent

[fact0is0fear]

and where are you from

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I'm a mongrel, born in South Africa, lived most of my life in England, also lived in Australia and am now living in America.

[fact0is0fear]

at school

[fact0is0fear]

"Poor boys dont marry rich girls"

[OldGrumpyGuy]

sad but true

[fact0is0fear]

I just had a report on the fellow

[OldGrumpyGuy]

what report?

[FunBoy15]

I'm well washed, just not very cultured. Just read The Great Gatsby.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

The Great Gatsby is not my favorite Fitzgerald, but all his writing was great. Did you enjoy it?

[FunBoy15]

I enjoyed it greatly. As an initiate to the 20th century canon of literature I've been reading the most well known or well recieved novels of various authors - Lolita, The Stranger, On The Road and so on. That's why I chose The Great Gatsby as my introduction to Fitzgeralds work. I will certainly read more.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

good to know

[ChrisTheRockGod]

i like your video. on an unrelated note, have you ever lived in South Africa? I'm a linguist and I'm trying to place your accent. (I lived in South Africa myself)

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Yes, I lived in Cape Town as a child but have spent most of my life in England

[BulletHitstheBone]

i can also see a connection with "may day" by fitzgerald and "perfect day for a bananafish" by salinger

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Salinger was obviously deeply influenced by Fitzgerald, particular in  "Catcher in the Rye".

[Whizzbang27]

I'm not sure if you know who Hunter S. Thompson is, but he was very inspired by Fitzgerald. In fact, before he made it big as the creator of gonzo journalism, he would re-write "The Great Gatsby" over and over again to learn the music of Fitzgerald. And it's ironic how I'm watching this right before Spirit Week and one of the days is The Stone Age vs the Roaring 20's, which I think is a rather pointless debate.

[Conservativesaregood]

This guy is pretending...........

[OldGrumpyGuy]

which guy?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

and what is being pretended. If you cannot substantiate your comments, don't make them

[cheatsatmonopoly]

I love that you dislike this man so much, and yet this is the second video that I have found of his with one of your comments attached. You obviously have issues completely seperate from this man's developed taste in art and literature.

[Finjuro]

Excellent! but who made a film version of Tender is the night? I've never heard of it.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

It was made in 1962, starring Jennifer Jones and Jason Robards Jr. You can find it on the IMDB website

[0YtsanBlowout0]

Fantastic. F. Scott is the author I most admire, Gatsby being his most fulfilling work. When, disappointingly, I ran out of Fitzgeralds work to read, I began reading all the critical commentaries surrounding Gatsby, Nick, Daisy, and that whole bunch. Thanks much, and looking forward to more in your series.

[frilb]

You have very accurately portrayed F.S,F, I was a devotee of his work and life during my early years. I've read Arthur Mizener's biography of F.S.F. and all the novels. I don't believe you alluded to the auto-biographical nature of This Side of Paradise, I've felt Gatsby was not a charicature but a real person.. My surmise has always been that it was Herbert Bayard Swope, a New York Racing commisioner, and the editor who gave the NYT the slogan, "All the news that's fit to print". Comment?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I don't really have a comment on Swope as the model for Gatsby. I will look into it. This Side of Paradise was obviously to a large extent autobiographical, as I guess were the Basil stories. Can you see the correlations with Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye?

[Luka1990Croat]

You haven't read all the works from all the literature legends...lazy bastard!

[ee8517]

RP, or received pronunciation, is a notional accent, supposedly social as opposed to regional. It is usually most closely associated with the aristocracy and public schools, and with the upper classes by extension. I am not going to start arguing with you about whether what they call RP is an accent or not. Some aspects of it would certainly come across as affected to most non-RP speakers. For instance, the long "a" in words like "grass" and "bath" . . .

[ee8517]

I enjoyed this, but couldn't help wondering about the accent. It occasionally sounds like a RP accent, but then there are various oddities, such as the consistent g-dropping i.e. stoppin' for stopping etc. Slightly comical, when coupled with what at times sounds like a very self conscious upper RP. Nothing wrong with the delivery as such. Just pointing this out because it intrigued me.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

What is RP? If you want to hear my take on my "accent". see my vid on "Accent? What accents?"

[ee8517]

. . . probably started out as fashionable quirks and became status markers. I don't think anyone would have pronounced them with anything other than a short "ae" (an attempt at rendering the IPA symbol. To me it's especially hilarious to hear "ass" being pronounced in this way. There's a delightful ambiguity to "you're an ass" pronounced with the long "a" of "grass" which always makes me think the speaker doesn't really know it's supposed to be "donkey". With a short "ae", as in "ant".

[ee8517]

Anyway, it's a fine persona, regardless of what you do with it.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

thanks for clearing that up!

[tigerlily86]

wow. absolutely wonderful. i thoroughly enjoyed this. youre a great and unequivocal speaker.

[Flao5]

The video game legend of zelda was based on F.Scotts wife

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Thanks for the info

[MorwenAeron]

Thank you for sharing! I could listen to your voice ever and your content is very interesting.

So, I love Dickens "A Tale of two cities", its really wonderful.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I'm planning on doing something on Dickens once Youtube gets its counter fixed

[MorwenAeron]

Thank you!

I can`t await...

[AntipaladinPedigri]

Nooo, that could take forever!

I love your series about those writers, please create some more.

[tfh962]

This is a very good video. I hope you continue posting them. It was very enlightening as well.

[postalsock]

Now I know how you feel about Ernest Hemingway. Oh sir I am very disappointed. Its okay though. To each his known. His work and style impress me very much and I look up to the man very much. He had a very rough life and it slowly wore him away.

[postalsock]

This man knows what he is talking about.

[reppohkered]

why does it sound like you have somewhat of a British accent?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Because I spent most of my life in Britain!

[Dystopian25]

I appreciate your effort.

Hemmingway was transfixed by the relationships between man and beast. It was an obsession, yes, but one he drew upon to create wonderfully terse, and trenchant books. Hemmingway never had a need to prove anything. He wrote what he knew. And in a way that was understandable. He eschewed turgidity for simplicity. Which, is a gift oft overlooked. His books were alluring. It is vacuous to theorize that Hemmingway was on a quest to assert his masculinity.

[bennybay1]

i like what you do, but i think you could have chosen a far more interesting passage to showcase Fitzgerald's literary ability. personally, i love the opening chapter to the 'Great Gatsby'. the pretentiousness and superficiality conveyed is so perfect. thanks!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

You're right, but I guess I chose the opening of Paradise to show how precocious he was at that age.

[plato2014]

you are really enjoyable to watch, but in relation to contemporary writers, whom do you prefer? any recommendations ?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I have a contemporary writer I will be featuring next. So you will know by the end of the week.

[giddegiddes]

excellent

[winerrol1969]

I am looking forward to the next one in this series

[richardleigh7654]

Looks like its going to be another great series. Thanks OGG

[earthatic]

Really interesting video. I'm going to be looking in to this author. Looking forward to more parts!

[buster81365]

though i am not as well read as you sir grumpy. i have but 3 suggestions for your series 1 the greatest american writer samuel clemens better known as mark twain.2 the 2nd best american writer edgar allen poe.number 3 writer is a writer not aswell known here in america edgar rice burroughs. though i do not like burroughs for his tarzan works rather his scifi series on martians. but you do what you think best. a great video by the way 5*. do you do readings at libaries? you speak so well !

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I will definitely be doing something on Mark Twain, but I am concentrating on the writers that I personally found entertaining and enlightening. Poe was a great writer, but too dark and supernatural for my tastes. I enjoyed the Tarzan movies as a child, and read the first Tarzan book, but on the whole I prefer people who look beneath the veneer of real life (which arguably Rice Burroughs did, but in a non-realistc setting).

[buster81365]

i will not bother to argue with you on which writers are better or not as these are your choices for great writers. i will enjoy watching your future videos no matter the subject, as far as poe being dark that is what intrigued me about his style when i was in high school. so much more interesting to a rebelious teenager than dickens or others of his style.i look forward to your future videos. and good luck on bringing light to the masses that live in the darkness of modern "uncivilization"

[OldGrumpyGuy]

This is not a series that really attempts (except perhaps in passing) to establish who the greatest writers are and how they compare. I will simply be discussing some that have had a big impact on me and whose writing I greatly admire.

[buster81365]

ok you are not ranking these as you did composers. but i do enjoy your vides no matter the subject.the painting with music were a stunning visual effect set to outstanding music. looking forward to seeing more from you on all subjects.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Thanks very much Buster

[buster81365]

you are most welcome grumpy .i should be the one thanking you as every video you produce is in every way outstanding.and an incredible joy to watch. you have a marvelous speaking voice i will ask again do you do public readings at your local libary? if not you might consider it if you have any extra time.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Ah, time is the big constraint. Unfortunately right now I have too many oars in too many  waters.

[buster81365]

i completely understand grumpy. i myself have nothing left but time since i became suddenly diabled 3 years ago i am unable to do a majority of the things i once enjoyed. the look of a childs face as they learn to read the great dr suess. but no need for rembering things that can no longer be. as life is life and we must live in the now not the past.

[ComradeJenny]

The Great Gatsby should be on everyone's "Books you must read before you die" list.

Is Charles Dickens next? The opening to "A Tale of Two Cities" is a perfect reflection of how I feel since November 4th :)

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I thought of Dickens, but he was rather spoiled for me by being forced to study him at school. I enjoyed David Copperfield to some extent, but couldn't really get into Two Cities.

[ComradeJenny]

My teachers forced us to read local authors that corresponded with their own political ideology and expressed that ideology in their books. From time to time we were given foreign novels, mainly Russians. It was a breath of fresh air to read books without being brainwashed how to think, and that's how I came to appreciate Russian literature, particularly the authors who in their writings criticized the same political system my teachers were trying to advocate.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I have decided to do something on Tolstoy, so the Russians will have at least one representative

[ComradeJenny]

Fantastic! I was beginning to think you have prejudice against Russians :)

[OldGrumpyGuy]

No, I actually wrote half an opera based on Anna Karenina (with the guy who did the lyrics for "The Living Years" for Mike and the Mechanics), but it was never completed. I may include one of the songs from that opera.

[ComradeJenny]

OGG you never seize to amaze, you are truly a renaissance man. I love how you keep revealing new layers of creativity. It would be great if you share with us a song and even greater if you shared it all.

Big Fan,

Comrade Jenny

[OldGrumpyGuy]

It is not the first time I have been called a renaissance man (as well as a "jack of all trades", and other less polite names). I will be sharing a couple of songs, but some of my symphonic music can be heard in the "Painting With Music" series. Thanks for the nice comments.

[ComradeJenny]

My favorites are Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

I started to read A Tale of Two Cities on a train in China but never finished it. However, I can recite from memory the opening paragraph lol!

[3monkeysmomma]

I love Fitzgerald's stories. I love his writing style, but some of his female characters annoy me.

Sort of as if Paris Hilton were a flapper.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I think Zelda had a little more depth than Paris Hilton, however. For that matter, everybody has more depth than Paris Hilton.

[blueshadowdude]

In regards to 20th century writers, I hope you will include Arthur C. Clark on your list. I know that most find sci-fi a lesser genre, but his influence in popular culture and in the scientific world is profound and undeniable. One need only to mention "2001: a Space Odyssey" and people all over the world instantly know the man and his work. In fact, it was reading a collection of short stories at age 11 or 12 that first showed me the pleasure of serious reading.

[Kierkeguardian]

I will kindly keep my opinions towards Fitzgerald, Salinger, and most other 20th century authors to myself in order to maintain peace and harmony. I am looking forward to the lectures on Austen and the Bronte Sisters if choose to post them. Also I hope you do consider discussing some non-English speaking authors like Cervantes, Kafka, and Dostoevsky (who in my relatively well studied opinion represents the highest plane in literary genius, but like you said it is impossible to read every book).

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I will definitely be doing something on Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, but as I mentioned below I was not captured as much by the Russian writers as by British and American writers. Same with Kafka, whom I found a little bleak and depressing.

[ComradeJenny]

Hey Kierke

Albert Camus, Milan Kundera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mikhail Bulgakov are 20th century authors and are, IMHO, brilliant.

I spend my childhood reading mostly non-English authors. I think Roger Zelazny, Douglas Adams, JD Salinger, Mark Twain and Joseph Heller were the only English ones I read back in the old country. After moving to America I started to read mostly English novels and discovered an incendiary and illuminating new world.

[Kierkeguardian]

My mistake on the first part...I meant to say American 20th century Authors (though I could comment on Camus, but I will restrain my-self).

As for 20th Century Authors several of them are among my most respected including Kafka, Solzhinitsyn, Pasternak, Haeney, Yeats, and (yes, an American) Plath. As a whole though the 20th century seems to be a sort of second "Enlightenment Era" and much of the literature reflects that (Why I that bothers me is another discussion).

[ComradeJenny]

I think we can maintain civility, different strokes for different folks. I'm also a big fan of Hunter Thompson and Jack Kerouac, which Im quite sure you despise :)

It reminds me of this scene: watch?v=3HDSFNzptSM

[hertelf]

Although the subject of this video is S. Fitzgerald (and the passage read by OGG was en excellent choce) his digression about Hemmingway seem to have evoked in my fellow viewers (and fans of Old Grumpy )varied emotions. To those may I suggest "Ernest Hemmingway,a life story" by Carlos Baker who was a prof.

of literature at Princeton. (Available at Amazon for less than $2, used paperback).

[blueshadowdude]

I especially like his short story "The Ice Palace." You almost shiver at his description of winter. I completely agree with your opinion of Hemingway. I remember I had to read "Old Man and the Sea" in Junior High. It took me forever to get through the bloody thing. I am looking forward to this series Grumpy. Wonderful work! Btw, I hope you will cover more that just American or British writers and include various genre.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Unfortunately, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's is the only non-Brit or non-US writer I can think of right now whose work I enjoyed, and he did not write enough to do a whole program about (although the "Little Prince" is delightful enough on its own). Unless you include Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm. I tried reading Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" but I just couldn't sustain interest.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I have read some of the great Russian writers like Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pasternak and others, but did not enjoy them as much as I enjoyed a lot of the British and American writers

[blueshadowdude]

May I suggest a few that aren't American nor Brit? Bram Stoker (Irish), Vladimir Nabokov (Russian), Gustave Flaubert (French), Homer (Greek) Margaret Atwood (Canadian). Btw, most of my favorite writers are British or American as well so I'll be pleased ether way.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Bram Stoker is a possibility. I think his Dracula is a wonderful piece of writing. It had so much more depth and atmosphere than any movie version. (It also inspired me to write an opera).

[blueshadowdude]

An opera? Fascinating...

[xleax]

While watching the documentary Beyond And Back (1978) I was made aware that Hemingway had a near death experience on July 8th, 1918. So he had a very different view of death, as people with NDE's do.

He once wrote to his family: "Dying is a very simple thing. I've looked at death and really I know."

Beside that, he suffered from alcoholism, manic depression and memory loss in his later years, according to wikipedia.

So, I can understand why the man did what he did.

[OldGrumpyGuy]

I think there might have been deeper motives.

[xleax]

Like what?

[OldGrumpyGuy]

Something he did not want to reveal to the world about himself, perhaps.

[reevaluate2008]

I love F. Scott Fitzgerald. Keep up the good work.

[alvinkuo777]

Will you be doing the American writers, or writers all over the world? Continue to spread the culture!

[OldGrumpyGuy]

They will mainly be British and American writers.

[jryan1971]

Really enjoyed it!  Look forward to the rest.

[amadeus9man]

I feel very special - I was the first viewer!

[percybessy]

i feel very impressed. what i want to add is that F Scott Fiztgerald personally prefers the film execution.that may explain why his works always undertake a film-like tone.i do like his novel Winter Dreams.Thank you.