Charles Portis #4

 Yes, I post again on Charles Portis with these excerpts from The New Republic's Portishead: The Literary Genius of Charles Portis. Seriously, folks, he is that good of a writer.

ONCE AT A party in New York, I met novelist Jonathan Lethem,” Jay Jennings, the editor of Escape Velocity, says in his introduction to this collection of lesser-known writings by and about Charles Portis, the beloved, publicity-allergic writer from Little Rock, Arkansas. “[I] mentioned the idea that [Portis] was our greatest unknown novelist, and he quipped, ‘Yes, he’s everybody’s favorite least-known great novelist.’” That’s a good way to think about it. Portis is a rarefied taste, but by now lots of people have acquired it.

See, read him and you get hooked. It is a good thing. You may have to go to a library or shop online to find his books, but you will find yourself wanting to read more. Guess if you are not a reader of fiction, you will not want to read Portis.

You can start on my previous Portis posts here.

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5/3/22