Tell us how you really feel.

I've always known that El Presidente di Fagistan hearts Wm. Faulkner. Today he dropped this:

Most of the critical reaction is to The Sound and the Fury, of course, which is largely considered third only to Ulysses and The Waste Land among Mondernist achievements. As most of you should know, I find the novel's reputation to be unwarranted. Of course, it is a staggering masterpiece of almost limitless potential. But Faulkner wrote at least three novels that are superior to it, including As I Lay Dying which is certainly the finest novel ever written and probably the best single work of art ever made.

I love heedlessly bold declarations like that and wish I could make them. I get all caught up in the fact that, well, when it comes to lit, I am way out of my league. (The list of canonical books that I haven't read is appalling.) I guess I'd be better suited to making bold pronouncements about film, but... yeah, the list of canonical films I've yet to see stagggers. (I still haven't seen an Ozu film. Or an Ophüls. Or a Bresson. Or... You get the [pathetic] picture.)

If you feel like letting a sweeping statement about art off your chest, leave it in the comment section.

Sidenote: At dinner this past Friday, a friend (loudly) asked: "Why am I eating dinner with you fuckers, when I could be watching Tucker?" It's a question that, I'm sure, has never been asked before. Somewhere, Francis Ford Coppola is smiling.