tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064796956302169303.post8033024835187163738..comments2024-03-25T02:21:43.523-04:00Comments on 30Squares: Speculations on E. L. Moore, Folk Art and The PulpsJ D Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07907821767203109311noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064796956302169303.post-32207428275989122722016-05-17T10:47:29.182-04:002016-05-17T10:47:29.182-04:00Thanks for your comments John. I agree that Railro...Thanks for your comments John. I agree that Railroad Magazine is less clinical, and more oriented to the popular culture of its time, but I think that has to do with the larger presence that railroads had in the economy and everyday life (also with the formulae for magazines in that era). Its appeal wasn't necessarily to railfans alone. Today there's far more segmentation and targeting, which isn't new and can be traced back decades, and less interest in fiction, so its era is long over. I'm also glad that some writers don't take creative writing classes and do what comes naturally even if some label it as bad :-)J D Lowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07907821767203109311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4064796956302169303.post-73277323041398119082016-05-17T10:23:44.931-04:002016-05-17T10:23:44.931-04:00E.L.Moore's buildings are arguably folk art, s...E.L.Moore's buildings are arguably folk art, since kits based on them are still sold nearly 50 years after his death. But his writing isn't literature. Actually, not a lot has lasted from the pulp fiction era, and the Railroad Magazine writing was recognized as awful at the time -- Kalmbach brought out Trains because it saw a market for more intelligent railfan journalism without cuteness. Mark Twain, followed possibly by Faulkner, was one of the few writers who could do southeastern or south-central US dialect. Moore's is the kind of stuff creative writing classes tell you not to try. Moore is interesting as a very successful semi-pro model railroad author, probably more successful than similar figures like Malcolm Furlow or John Olson, who in part tried to imitate Moore. Moore had the advantage of being original.John Brucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04625895756906828468noreply@blogger.com