Dear Sir:
I know you’ll never read this. Your personality and mystique depend greatly on the bedrock fact that you would never Google yourself or deign to read one of the 18 million letters on the Internet titled “An Open Letter to J.D. Salinger.” I’ve even noted (with horror) that there is an entire website dedicated to letters to you, most of which say, “I read your book in a class. I didn’t finish it, but I thought it was dumb.”
But, on the off chance that someone might find this amusing, I will proceed.
You should stay in hiding.
That’s right, I said it. You are 89 years old. If you want to sit in your house and write for your own personal satisfaction, you should be allowed to do that without people poking at you all the time. If you decided one day that enough was enough and went on Larry King Live, you would become just another person. You’d be just another writer, just another guy who wrote a few books fifty years ago. Instead, you are like the literary Sphinx. No one is 100% sure who you are or what your purpose is here on earth.
Good for you.
I don’t want to know your favorite book, your favorite food or what you think of Oprah. I prefer to keep you right where you are, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. If Greta Garbo would have kept giving interviews and allowing people to write about her and take her picture, she would have been just another good actress.
I understand. You’re giving us a gift. It is a gift to know that somewhere, you are writing. You are thinking. You are doing it not because you got a book advance, not because you want to further your fame and fortune, but because it’s what you want to do. Someday, perhaps we will get to read what you’ve been writing all these years. Perhaps not.
Sometimes, I imagine that everything will come out after you're gone. You must be a very compelling person to keep everyone you know quiet all these years. Maybe after you’re gone they will all open up. I hope not. I hope they keep their mouths shut and allow you to keep being yourself. If they don’t talk, I can imagine you’re still there. I would miss the Salinger-shaped void that is in my world. I don’t want them to fill you in like a character in a novel badly imagined by a movie. I don’t want to know who you are; I want you to remain a mystery.
Don’t let the phony bastards get you down.
With Love and Squalor -
Jodi Kasten
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~J.D. Salinger
BUMP!
More Mr. Salinger goodness:
“That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write 'Fuck you' right under your nose.”
I only hope that he doesn't outlive me so that I may have the chance to read what he has written since.
rated
Nice to see someone who feels the way you do.
Live and let live is more than a slogan.
"Marriage partners are to serve each other. Elevate, help, teach, strengthen each other, but above all, serve. Raise their children honorably, lovingly and with detachment. A child is a guest in the house to be loved and respected but never possessed, since he belongs to God. How wonderful, how sane, how beautifully difficult and therefore true. The joy of responsibility for the first time in my life."
Julie - While I find the literary reference admirable, you may want to consider the ramifications of the 15 year old boy-child-to-be grasping into the darkness for the hand of the "real" Holden.
I'm just sayin'...
he's always been my model of literary fame. I hate that writers now have to be celebrities. People write because they're shy and want to put words on paper rather than parade around in front of people. But not they have to do both. ugh. Just let writers write!
Besides, it's far from a crush. I think he's probably pretty scary. I just don't want him to ruin it in some fit of finality.
::shudder::
You could say the same thing about Pynchon; I still don't even know what he looks like.
Doesn't detract from the genius of his writing which is worth honoring.
Salinger is a weird man, by most accounts, but I deeply respect his desire for privacy and I only wish more held that desire.
We have just read your letter in our eleventh grade English class. We believe your opinion about Mr. Salinger staying in hiding is fair. He should be able to continue living "incognito" if he so choses. If he were to come out of seclusion, he would become just another "phony." He would conform to what society thinks is right, have his fifteen minutes of fame, and would no longer be that mythological genius we all imagined him to be.
We also feel that Salinger should be able to keep Holden Caulfield as his own. However, we feel that, you, in writing this letter, are somewhat hypocritical. You state that you were horrified with the many letters posted to Mr. Salinger, yet you have created a page of your own, where you say he should remain in hiding. You are increasing his fame by doing this; you are drawing attention to him with it. Mr. Salinger is 90 years old and should be allowed to relax and enjoy what remains of his life.
Sincerely,
Live Oak High School
Junior English, Per. 2
While I fully admit to the hypocrisy of being horrified by a raft of letters to Mr. Salinger then responding with one of my own, I would like to point out that the reason it is a letter and not a normal blog entry is that I was aiming for a little bit of satire. I probably should have been a touch more clear about that.
Mr. Salinger's fame will continue to grow with or without my personal opinion, I am certain. I do hope that, if by some miracle, my words were ever heard or read by Mr. Salinger, he would be appreciative of the supportive message.
Also, it is important for me to mention to you that when I was in 11th grade English classes, we were not allowed to read Salinger. Take a moment and give your teacher a big round of applause for introducing you to Mr. Caulfield. If you let him, he will be a true friend for the rest of your life.
Thank you for your response to my blog entry and don't ever let the phonies get you down!
Our 4th period, Junior English class has just read your letter to Mr. Salinger. The majority of us agree that Mr. Salinger should stay in hiding if he chooses to. We believe he does so because he is not interested in fame or money. Maybe he just likes to write.
Others feel that if he didn't want attention or fame. he shouldn't have written and published some of his work. At the same time, this may be the way he tried to show society how he felt about the changes going on in the 1940s and 50s.
You say, that you'd like him to stay in hiding because no one really knows who he is. We agree that this makes him even more interesting and mysterious. If he did come out in public, he would lose that mysteriousness and just be an ordinary person. One thing we felt was contradictory about your letter is that you were horrified about "people poking" at him, yet, you decided to post a webpage to him. Isn't that poking at him as well?
Mr. Salinger propbably wants to be treated like an actual human being, rather than just a writer. Let's all leave him alone.
Sincerely,
The 4th period Junior English Class
at Live Oak High School
Also, we sincerely appreciate your response to the first letter! It was so exciting for the students in our 4th period to see that you had responded to 2nd period. It made our activity truly authentic, and we appreciate your time so much!
Thanks! We appreciate Holden and he is our friend for life; we can only hope our students experience the same.
Thank you for your letter!
You are studying Salinger for a very good reason. He has important things to say about the way society views young people and how they view society.
While my satirical look at letters to Salinger may be hypocritical in some eyes, I will point out that you are adding to the coverage of Salinger here as well - as are your teachers and anyone else who shares their thoughts publicly about his work.
That isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. There is much to be learned from his work. You are writing to share your opinions, which is not at all different than my intent. If we can't trade ideas, we can't learn.
A great deal of the "horror" I described is inspired by the quote I use as an example. I think if people are going to tell someone their work is bad, they should at least finish it and give some good reasons why.
I am greatly enjoying hearing your thoughts about J.D. Salinger.
Thank you again for writing to me.
I am happy to exchange ideas with your students. I'm honored that what I wrote could be a small part of your discussion of Salinger.
I will be leaving my desk around 4:30 Eastern Time. If I miss a class, I'll be sure to have a response up for them tomorrow.