Did Melville have an editor? The context for artists is their culture and we are in tricky tender transforming times, no doubt - who are the current artists and who are the editors? Mark Twain is reported to have said that he was surprised as he began to get older how much his father had learned - I am wondering if generations ever think the other way around - I am amazed at how much 3 and 4 year olds know and how many wonderful and insightful questions questions they ask often not really wanting to hear our answers but rather just to get them out there so they can hear them and pursue them - the younger artists and editors are growing up in and into what the older generations have already created - In my book, a well read younger seasoning editor is bound to be way ahead of a well read senior editor by definition - a younger editor is closer to the ground, closer to the front line - Dear Head of Mine - what do you "think"?❤️ Loved walking around this one with you and Melville!!
It's a great question! The short answer is...I don't think so? The concept of an editor was much different before the 20th century, I believe. The emphasis was much more on the commissioning and correcting aspect of the job. This meant editing was for spelling and grammar and for a time censorship, but even a little bit of style too. The editor/publishing house felt much more latitude to just change something, but broad strokes of the book were left totally up to the writer. But into the 20th century editors and publishers started taking a much more "developmental" role, basically helping writers craft and hone their stories and enhance their styles rather than dot their i's and not say anything lewd (I'll probably write about this in depth in the future, I think the popular imagination of an editor is a lot different than the reality!). Earlier writers were much more dependent on themselves and other writers and intellectuals they were friends with to do this kind of developmental work. If I had to guess from everything I've heard about Melville, a bit of an odd duck without a lot of friends, he was probably his own editor in the sense of how we think of an editor nowadays. It definitely makes sense from my read of the book-- he just goes where he feels like going. In this context I think we can forgive him a bad moment here and there, because it's also what makes it such a unique book that has stood the test of time.
That's a nice thought, but I think older, younger, we just all have different natural skills and learned ones through our experiences. When I work with older editors they are better at a lot of things than I am, but I am also better at some. It's common to be caught in the either/or of 'they're young they don't know anything yet' vs. 'they're old and so can't see how things are changing'. Generally, it does seem young people and especially kids have that curiosity and ability to see things for the first time, older people have watched things unfold and are better predictors of how things will likely play out, but these are both, in the end, generalities--old people can come up with brilliant new ideas and young people can size up a situation although their experience may be limited (haven't you also seen a 3 or 4 year old cut to the chase in a way that is eerily wise? an older person with a quick, spontaneous moment of wit that sends you to the floor laughing?).
Oh - and what about investigating "editors" across time?
Did Melville have an editor? The context for artists is their culture and we are in tricky tender transforming times, no doubt - who are the current artists and who are the editors? Mark Twain is reported to have said that he was surprised as he began to get older how much his father had learned - I am wondering if generations ever think the other way around - I am amazed at how much 3 and 4 year olds know and how many wonderful and insightful questions questions they ask often not really wanting to hear our answers but rather just to get them out there so they can hear them and pursue them - the younger artists and editors are growing up in and into what the older generations have already created - In my book, a well read younger seasoning editor is bound to be way ahead of a well read senior editor by definition - a younger editor is closer to the ground, closer to the front line - Dear Head of Mine - what do you "think"?❤️ Loved walking around this one with you and Melville!!
It's a great question! The short answer is...I don't think so? The concept of an editor was much different before the 20th century, I believe. The emphasis was much more on the commissioning and correcting aspect of the job. This meant editing was for spelling and grammar and for a time censorship, but even a little bit of style too. The editor/publishing house felt much more latitude to just change something, but broad strokes of the book were left totally up to the writer. But into the 20th century editors and publishers started taking a much more "developmental" role, basically helping writers craft and hone their stories and enhance their styles rather than dot their i's and not say anything lewd (I'll probably write about this in depth in the future, I think the popular imagination of an editor is a lot different than the reality!). Earlier writers were much more dependent on themselves and other writers and intellectuals they were friends with to do this kind of developmental work. If I had to guess from everything I've heard about Melville, a bit of an odd duck without a lot of friends, he was probably his own editor in the sense of how we think of an editor nowadays. It definitely makes sense from my read of the book-- he just goes where he feels like going. In this context I think we can forgive him a bad moment here and there, because it's also what makes it such a unique book that has stood the test of time.
On the history of editing: https://public.wsu.edu/~bryanfry/History%20of%20Editing.pdf
That's a nice thought, but I think older, younger, we just all have different natural skills and learned ones through our experiences. When I work with older editors they are better at a lot of things than I am, but I am also better at some. It's common to be caught in the either/or of 'they're young they don't know anything yet' vs. 'they're old and so can't see how things are changing'. Generally, it does seem young people and especially kids have that curiosity and ability to see things for the first time, older people have watched things unfold and are better predictors of how things will likely play out, but these are both, in the end, generalities--old people can come up with brilliant new ideas and young people can size up a situation although their experience may be limited (haven't you also seen a 3 or 4 year old cut to the chase in a way that is eerily wise? an older person with a quick, spontaneous moment of wit that sends you to the floor laughing?).