As Ford grew into his own by writing a number of successful novels, he was nonetheless frustrated by his inability to write short stories. Then he became friends with famous dirty realists, and being around these writers (Ray Carver, Toby Wolff, and others) helped him figure out techniques to be stronger in this genre. Ford notes that being "pithy" is important. Get in, make your point, let it speak for itself, and get out. Although short stories rarely receive adequate recognition- as demonstrated in the case of Ann Beattie- they allowed him to refine some "dirty realist" techniques. Ford dismisses the term as a marketing ploy, but there are a number of examples in his short stories that do show the influence of his friends.
"A girl dressed in uniform exactly like Louise's waited on the opposite side of the street from where the man was loading cardboard boxes onto the minivan, and where two more cars were parked at the curb. She was in front of what had once been a house but was now a weed-encircled concrete slab with a relic chain-link fence across what would've been a back yard, where an old-fashioned mangle iron sat marooned on its side."- Leaving for Kenosha
To me, this passage stood out as not only the best depiction of life in post-Katrina New Orleans, but as a perfect example of dirty realism. The language may be of a slightly higher quality and contain a couple more adjectives than normal, but captures the essence of "the people at the margins" suggested by Evers. Ford refrains from sensationalizing, and realistically captures the setting and condition of Ginny's residence. The use of dirty realism makes for highly effective prose and adds dimension to Ford's work.
No comments:
Post a Comment