Kevin Canty was born in
1953 in Lakeport, California. He grew up in a family of artists, and his
brothers Brendan and James both became musicians. In 1990 he received his
master’s degree in English from the University of Florida and in 1993, he
received his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona.
Known for his concrete
style of realistic fiction, his stories are inspired by tidbits from his
everyday life, and he is said to be influenced by writers Raymond Carver and
Harry Crews. He also draws inspiration from the poet Charles Bukowski. In a
survey of his six novels and three short story collections, we found that Canty
does not typically focus on religion as a subject. In our reading of the story “God’s
Work” in Best American Short Stories 2017, we find a story by an established writer whose subject material in this story, on its surface, departs somewhat from his other work.In class, we have discussed the concept of a literary canon, and how canon(s) may or may not shape contemporary writing. Does finding “God’s Work” in the Best American Short Stories 2017 tell us anything about the current state of the canon?
I think it really goes to show that what we personally view as "literary" isn't exactly what the populace/ canon-makers have in mind for what is "good" literature. "God's Work" shows the general life of a young man that just happens to be in a very religious household, a household with a religion similar to the Jehovah's Witnesses but not. This story, like many literary pieces, use the bildungsroman as a general master plot. Canty then twists it through a sexually frustrated untrustworthy narrator. I think this is the part if the piece that really makes this story "literary;" otherwise it would just be a creepy teenage dude that uncomfortably befriends a girl that is "unlike every other girl" (which is an extremely over used trope but whatever). It's as if Humbert Humbert wasn't a pedophile but instead a teenage boy. In a lot of ways, this narration style even mirrors Lolita's style of writing itself. A lot of this story feels other worldly, as if the real world didn't exist until this guy met this girl. The character's themselves do not really change or even turn; it's more as if they start to turn, but then they go right back to where they were at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAlso, pertaining to the "literary" vs. "good" nature of the piece, the writings for which he is known have been pieces that are now widely read. If the anthology published something inside his normal realm of work, it risks becoming an anthology that readers have seen before. With this piece of work, we learn how writers can branch outside of their normal realm of work yet still have a story worth telling. Once they've established an audience that will listen to them, they use their stance in the literary world as sort of a jumping off point. Writers, of course, can have variety in their pieces and still be worth reading.
DeleteI think at the end of the day any literary canon (from the mainstream acceptance to the more niche genre canons) is always going to be insufficient. "Good" literature comes down to the merits of the piece itself, so while the reception of a piece an author writes that's outside their typical style may be different than if it was what the author "usually writes," the piece can still be judged on its own.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Canty, we can enjoy "God's Work" regardless of how its different from his other pieces; they only matter contextually regarding the author himself, not about the story itself. But even then, while the story has religious matter not typically associated with Canty, it still has many of the trappings of Canty. His matter of fact descriptions and the main character's distant, frustrated relationship can be found in some of his other pieces (the one that comes to mind is "Mayfly"). It also has the element Richard mentioned in his comment; the almost turn. The characters seem ready and prepared to turn, for something to change, but then they just lock themselves back into place. Even in a different type of story, the author's techniques and ideas are still there.
I completely agree with Honor--this anthology is trying to show something new, at least with this writer. In order to become a collection of stories that readers will be interested in, it has to branch out of normalcy and throw a curveball to lovers of literature. Therefore, it provides us with this story. A story that was written by a well-known author, but that is not something usually "associated" with his typical style or content. It still shows Canty's great writing, just in a different way, and if new readers love this story, they'll still love his other works, even if it is slightly different from his usual stories.
ReplyDeleteThere are several different ways of looking at canon, at least to my mind. This story fits within Literary canon because of how it's written, as well as the basic plot. The classic tropes of coming of age, boy meets girl, burgeoning sexuality, parent versus child, self vs self, mind vs heart, etc. All of those are concepts that show up constantly in the canon - I used to think that was because that's just what people write about. But now it's clear that tastemakers also really like these themes, and that those are the kinds of themes that get chosen. I find that kind of irritating. There is so much variety and so many experimental new work being done, and a lot of it will be ignored in favor of tired tropes. That is not to say the story is bad because of the tropes it contains. I think it's very well written, captivating and candid. But it's the same story being told again, in a different way. That's not a problem, every voice has something different to contribute, but I wish the tastemakers would broaden their horizons, there's so much more out there. I worry that there's a lot of fantastic writing that I will never see because it doesn't fit within the tastemakers established cast of tropes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Richard, that "God's work" had an almost turn. Towards the end I realized how expectant I was that the characters would change after the "unlike every other girl" trope. I feel Canty used this knowledge to his advantage, which led to the almost turn readers were expecting. I haven't read Canty's other stories, but I think Canty's choice of doing something he's not known for is a good thing. I agree with Honor and Val, that for reader's to be interested in a story, it has to do something different the author isn't known for. It's a way to gain new readers and experiences without taking anything away from the author's other stories.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not convinced that there is ever a true, universal canon, the fact that "God's Work" is somewhat outside of this "canonical" author's frame of reference, yet still worthy of being in Best American Short Stories, shows the fact that any author worthy of being "in the canon" should be able to address multiple issues and frames of reference. While Canty does not typically address religion, his facility with writing about it speaks more to the nature of a good author than to the nature of any canon. "God's Work" is piece that wants to seem vaguely subversive, but is internally inconsistent. The character of Clara does not make any sense. The tattoo combined with her deeply religious nature (attending Sander's religion and her attempt at Catholicism) doesn't make sense. The father's ambivalence to Clara and the freedom she has to attend weeks and weeks of these meetings contrasted against his bursting in at the end and dragging her out saying "But for now I have to take care if her. Steer her in the right direction." (40) doesn't make logical sense in the context of a universe where these events happen. In a narrative they make sense, but in an actual world they don't which is the bar that realistic fiction has to clear for me to accept it as good. The story would make more sense from Clara's POV, considering she is the one who these plot holes form around, but it's in Sander's POV instead. Sander, so concerned with the bad haircut that he won't even describe, that just exists to plague him, the narrator and the most important character. (In short, I don't like Sander, and feel like this story would have more impact if it was centered around Clara instead of him. I am ambivalent about the story because of this. Which likely influences my disdain for the "canonical" nature of the story.)
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it's necessary for a story to be an enigma in an author's collected works to be appreciated by readers. It might help to entice new audiences, but I think that as long as an author's overall writing style is good enough, genre is less important. I'll read a well-written western over a shitty piece of sci-fi, though I would normally prefer the latter genre. I think that an enigmatic work of fiction becoming a part of the literary canon says more about the creators of the canon than the readership. I also think that for an author to write a story that's out of their normal realm of comfort means that they must have been very inspired. I.e., this sort of a story might be written more skillfully or with more passion, because whatever muse inspired it was obviously strong enough to make the author diverge from their normal genre.
ReplyDeleteFinding God's Work in the canon shows that the current state of canon is both flexible and conservative. It is open to new takes on old concepts, which I love. God's Work is a story about a man discovering who he is and what his desires are. It is a traditional story written in an atypical way, with lots of curious introspection and religious overtone thrown in. It is that combination that makes it perfect for this kind of canon
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