Yes, it's your intentions that I'm calling into question. I don't believe that you really don't understand the "outrage". I think you understand it perfectly well and are willfully blind to the "outrage" because you intend to generate attention for yourself. Which I have given you, oddly enough, and that makes me…

I'm not responding to the Twitterati, whatever that is, and if this is your definition of outrage then you've had a sheltered life. I'm responding to YOU and YOUR statement, which as I've said, I suspect is willful.

Yes I’ve often thought that about Meryl Streep. Like, Al Pacino is super famous, and he deserves it because he’s a great actor. But also, it’s way easier to stand out when you get roles like Scarface and Michael Corleone and Serpico etc. Meryl Streep- amazing actress, but being a woman, she’s had far fewer really…

wow

I meant more influential to the genre- not to him personally. He can be influenced by any damn thing he wants. But if you are going to argue that Talese is better known than any of the other people I named, go ahead and make the argument. You say you would, but you didn’t. Everyone else on that list are best sellers,…

Um, no. Are you trolling? First off, I named people because YOU asked. I did not say that he should have listed people. I was responding to YOU when YOU asked how many there could possibly be that were in his league. The last part of your statement makes me think you are trolling. It is not "just his opinion" to make…

I think it’s particularly egregious with writers, though. With actors, it’s just true that men get better parts. There are more very interesting performances by male actors than female actors- not because the talent isn’t there, but rather because stories tend to have male protagonists. Not always, of course, but…

Thanks! I've seen her name all over the place, but I didn't know she was a woman. There aren't enough women in scifi.

Just in the short period of time from when I wrote that, others mentioned Hannah Arendt, Janet Malcolm, Gloria Steinem, and Nadine Gordimer (wow!) all had indirect professional connections with him at one time or another.

For sure. He had plenty of people he could’ve said. Steinem-yes! Another I didn’t think of. Someone else here pointed out that he actually worked with Nora Ephron, omg.

Doesn't everything?

A lot of great writers say stupid things. Don't punish yourself by limiting what you read to the work of nice people. Though in this case, the only thing I've read by him is the Sinatra piece which is very entertaining and maybe historically important (in terms of genre) but it's just pretty good. I never understood…

Snap! Another one I forgot about! Wow, so many great American essayists. I forget how much I enjoy NF.

Arendt. Forgot about her too. Thanks!

Yeah, like I bet his thought process went along the lines of "no, no women have inspired me" then in his head (oh snap, that sounded sexist. I better come up with a reason) then "you see, women writers are great at a lot of things, but not at literary journalism" (that's better).

But were any of those women journalists other than Egan? I could talk about amazing female novelists and poets all day long, but if I try to name female literary journalists, I have a harder time thinking of more than five or six of his generation. Not that I’m defending him- he is a journalist and has worked with…

Well he'd never agree with that. He just says there aren't any that he likes. I suggest people, and no, he just doesn't like them. It's just his preference, right, not a subconscious bias or anything. Arrrggghhh...

Yeah, it's wild. Thing is, I think some men have trouble relating to anything that is not in reference to their own experience. Women don't have this problem as much since most literature/music are not from the point of view of women.

Yes, and I’m not trying to defend him. I’m just pointing out that the question is about people of his generation and older- they are asking about his influences, right? She was not publishing until the 80s.

Why wouldn't they?