Scraping the Brontës' barrel

Michael Caines in the Guardian's Book Blog complains about why publishers only seem to be interested in publishing obscure works from well-known (and easily saleable) authors instead of other interesting (but not so marketable) authors and works:

If you listen carefully you'll notice something that sounds distinctly like the bottom of a barrel being scraped, but the key to it all is that a Name can be marketed. Take a look at some recent covers from Hesperus. Each one makes it tastefully but absolutely clear that their authors are familiar to you - Bronte, Dickens, Shelley - even though the titles are not. It's only a short step in cover design to a volume with JONATHAN SWIFT emblazoned in gold across the front. TOM CLANCY, eat your heart out.

Although we may agree with Michael Caines's complain, we don't think that scraping the Brontës' barrel is not compatible with his demand.

Also in The Guardian, Linda Newbery talks about children and teenager book characters. For some reason, Jane Eyre appears among the examples:

Most important of all is that your readers must care about your character. Endow your hero or heroine with skill, beauty and undentable self-confidence and you risk alienating the reader. Flaws, self-doubts and weaknesses - in even the most spirited of characters, like Philip Pullman's Lyra - engage reader sympathy. Winnie-the-Pooh is endearing because he's well-meaning, but easily confused; Jane Eyre because she considers herself to be plain and unremarkable.

Joan Blakewell, British journalist and TV presenter, publishes in The Independent a sentimental journey from her teens to now:

Then the hormones kicked in and I became a sucker for DH Lawrence and the fire in the blood. Emily Brontë's message was that tortured passion was better than gentle loving. All this led to turbulent times and love and sex became a major pre-occupation. I read about it, fantasised, saw the movies Brief Encounter, Gone with the Wind but didn't do much about it.

The Rhinoceros Times reviews The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett and slips this perceptive comment:

Anybody who dares to write a book that deliberately reminds you of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters is an idiot. Austen is such a perfect writer that nobody can match her wit – those who try merely embarrass themselves. And few who try to do Bronte-esque Gothic have a clue as to how the genre works. (Orson Scott Card)

Gonzalo Barr interviews Rita María Martínez, author of the poetry chapbook Jane-in-the-Box:

Barr: How do you write?
Martínez: Many of my poems were sparked while reading the poetry and fiction of others. I stop reading, grab a legal pad, and start writing. I’ve written many of the Jane poems at my parents house, so perhaps being there helped me channel this poem. I write in cursive on a notebook and use a gel pen. Afterwards, I type the text into the computer and revise as I go along. I also stuffed my ears with earplugs, so I wouldn’t be distracted by any noise! I have this unbelievable super-hearing, which is more of a curse than a blessing.
Barr: I often wish we had developed earlids, as well as eyelids.
Martínez: Earlier this week I was rereading Wuthering Heights. I know it’s a classic, and I know many readers are absolutely obsessed with this book. However, I have always extremely disliked the main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine. They are very flawed individuals. But I decided to give the novel a second shot, and put my hatred of Heathcliff on hold. While rereading Wuthering Heights, I had an idea for a new Jane Eyre-related poem, titled “Letter to Edward.” In the chapbook, I have a poem titled “Letter to Bertha.” Now I am toying with the idea of writing additional Jane Eyre-related poems and turning them into another poetry collection. Wuthering Heights vividly describes the moors and touches on insanity and cruelty, so rereading it sparked an idea for a new poem, where I compare Heathcliff to Rochester.
Some of the Jane poems were written after reading A Room of Her Own, The Madwoman in the Attic by Gilbert and Gubar, Wide Sargasso Sea, or Angela Carter’s short stories and others. I wrote a good chunk of poems while commuting on the metro, though I usually like to write in bed during the late hours of the night when it is quiet. I am not a morning person, so I envy writers who roll out of bed and start writing. (...)
Barr: Why Jane Eyre?
Martínez: I read it as a junior in high school and was captivated by the plot. It’s a page turner. Thackeray could barely put the book down when he first read it and gave it a glowing review. I am fascinated by the story. The plot has all the right ingredients: mystery, romance, adventure. The reader really gets to know Jane and is able to live inside her head. One traces her life from a young age. By the end of the novel, the reader knows every intimate detail of Jane’s life—much in the same way the reader gets to know Pip from Great Expectations or Bailey from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Jane Eyre is the story of an underdog, and audiences usually root for underdogs. Characters like Edward Rochester, Bertha Rochester, St. John Rivers, and Blanche Ingram are also extremely memorable. I’ve found myself relating to different characters during different stages of my life. And Charlotte’s prose is very poetic and beautiful. There’s a reason it’s a classic.
Barr: Would you call your poetry feminist?
Martínez: Yes, I consider my writings to be feminist, though there are times I dislike the
label. No offense to Chaucer, Milton, or Shakespeare, but at age sixteen it was refreshing to read a novel penned by a female—a novel which is part of the literary canon. Poems such as “Cross Dressing” and “Reading Jane Eyre II” are a tribute to Charlotte Brontë and other female authors who wrote pseudonymously. Female authors were judged on a different scale. Brontë wanted the reader to approach the novel in an unbiased manner—to reserve judgment according to the literary merits of the work as opposed to the gender of its author. “Letter to Bertha” and several other poems are attempt to address the important issue of female authorship and female insanity and its treatment.

Rita María Martínez will read this Sunday, September 28, 2008, at 6:00 p.m., along with other graduates of the Florida International University M.F.A. program, at Books and Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables (305.442.4408)

On the blogosphere, all is about Wuthering Heights:
Blog Om Bøger posts about the book linking the analysis to the works and conclusions of psychologist Alice Miller and philosopher Axel Honneth (in Norwegian). The Cheeky Gwynnes and Joyce's Live Space recommend Emily Brontë's masterpiece.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Poetry, References, Wuthering Heights