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I’ve noticed a strange thing. A literary theory By Joseph Skibell. Hello, I’m Joseph Skibell. Recently a student of mine told me that her mother had logged onto our college’s website and had seen a picture of me there. This is that picture:. “Why, your professor looks just like … .
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I’ve noticed a strange thing A literary theory By Joseph Skibell
Recently a student of mine told me that her mother had logged onto our college’s website and had seen a picture of me there.
It’s a flattering comparison, I suppose, but in truth, it’s nothing I haven’t heard many times before.
Of course, I’m sure no one ever says to Hugh Grant, “You know, Hugh, you look just like that writer Joseph Skibell.”
But that’s okay, because lately I’ve noticed a strange thing. A lot of best-selling writers seem to resemble famous people from non-literary professions.
…looks just like… …Anthony Edwards from ER.
And my theory is that this gives the reader an extra little thrill, as though he or she were reading a novel by Dr. Mark Greene, Edward’s character on ER, scratched out between patients in the emergency room.
There are more examples: Am I the only one who noticed that short-story writer Nathan Englander… …looks a lot like …
I can’t help wondering… …if Englander’s readers experience a subliminal pleasure imaging they’re reading a book by the singer of the Who.
There’s a kind of Separated-At-Birth syndrome at play here, I think.
And, as Tom Wolfe points out in his Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test, Ken Kesey did look a bit like…
The playwright Naomi Wallace … . …looks like the playwright Sam Shepard.
And there are some writers who don’t have to look like successful people from other professions, because they themselves have been successful in other professions.
As a movie star, Sam Shepard looks more or less like Sam Shepard the writer. Writer Movie Star
The same is true for Wallace Shawn. Actor Writer
Leonard Cohen the poet/novelist resembles Leonard Cohen the singer/songwriter. author photo album cover
Although Cohen also looks like Israeli novelist Amos Oz: (Or is it the other way around?)
You can’t tell me their success as actors or singers doesn’t help to sell their literary work.
Or that the glamour of actors like Rupert Everett or Ethan Hawke doesn’t carry over from their films when they look for an audience for the novels they write. (Both these men are novelists.)
So, all I’m saying is, as you browse through your bookstore, if you happen to pick up one of my novels, I hope, while you’re looking at the author’s photo, you’ll vaguely, almost imperceptibly, recall all the joy I’ve given you over the years …
… in films like About A Boy, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and of course, Four Weddings and a Funeral.
A Blessing on the MoonandThe English Diseaseby Joseph Skibellare published by Algonquin Booksand are available at fine bookstores everywhere.
