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salingeresque

-- not what you think --

Postmodern Hilarity Ahoy!

You might think this is a tribute site of some sort, but I assure you it is not. "Salingeresque" is a literary term, that came about from the name of a writer who authored an immensely popular book. It's one of the pre-eminent lit terms that has been overused and misused from the time of its coinage to describe the work of any writer of humorous and disfunctional/coming of age memoirs and novels. While the book created by the term's namesake stood the test of time for a long time, at this point in time it's not looking very timely. It does still stand the test of funny, but it has aged into a quaint period piece. One wonders how much meaning the youthful reader of century twenty-one might find in it. And though it is far removed from the zeitgeist (making me wonder why I am undertaking this little project), I nevertheless welcome here those who find the writing life full of so much B.S. that you'd like to run away and never have anything more to do with it again. Because it seems to me that is what "salingeresque" really means. So if you're a writer, drop me a laugh, drop me a memory, or just drop your pants (symbolically) to show you're beholden to no one but yourself as you live the writer's life.

Coming soon -- The New Philazine (Print and online), because there are good things happening in lit in the City Of Brotherly Love, and somebody should be covering it. There has always been an underground of self-publishers in and around Philly, from Franklin to W.E.B.DuBois to Whitman and beyond. The New Philazine will find out who is keeping the tradition alive and give you the details.

The New Philazine

What's In A Name?
You may wonder that from the name and URL of this website. And it's a fair question. I suppose there are many ramifications in having a particular name. Who among us doesn't chuckle when we see that a dentist is named Dr. Pain; Or that someone involved (in a business sense) with sheep is named Mr. Woolery; or that a ship captain in the old days was named by his parents Captain, so that he became Captain Captain Smith. (See J. Heller's Major Major in Catch-22. It's funny because it's true.) Not particularly funny, although true, is that my name is John Douglas Finch. I know, I know. J.D. and the website name and you have to wonder what the hell is going on. But many people know me as simply "Doug", though perhaps that moniker isn't as simple or humble as it once was. My point is, don't let a simple thing like a name upset you. Even if the ax murderer's name is Max Chopper.