How often does a major newspaper publish an article on an author that’s not tied to a book or movie release? How often when the author has been dead 20 years?
The LA Times just did. On Heinlein, of course. The very existence of the article seems to somewhat undercut the content, which is mostly negative.
Guh. I have numerous beefs with Heinlein, certainly, but I can’t help noticing that while Philip K. Dick gets tagged as an “oddball,” and other derogatory sobriquets, William S. Burroughs, who could could with equal justice be called a number of uncomplimentary names, is just named, presumably because he, after all, is literary. Just guh.
The other thing I’m thinking is that a lot of popular books have to be rejected after a certain amount of time has passed, because the mistakes made by them and their eras are too close for comfort. Later on, they just become period pieces and are admired again. I wonder if that will happen with Heinlein.
P.
I think Dick got a lot more respect in the community than they suggest, too. Including from Heinlein. And they seem not to have quite gotten the word that Cyberpunk has been over for a decade.