4.10.2008

The Task of a Writer

An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lately, I’ve been thinking about shedding the moniker, Cheddar Ted, in favor of my real name Theodore B. Bressman. My only concern is that I'd consider it inauthentic down the line. But ever since I made a point to be polite and not much of a showman, I haven’t really enjoyed freestyle rapping, and that's what inspired the name. The crux of my deliberation, like the aim of this blog and my life in general, is just to keep it as real as humanly possible…so this is obviously a somewhat crucial impasse.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a bit of a showboat. I used to taunt people, I was no stranger to vulgarity, and I occasionally performed impromptu stand-up routines in lieu of honest conversation. One of my twenty five screen names in middle school was actually SonningYou@aol.com! But about seven months ago, I woke up and was just like, “I don’t feel like showboating anymore,” so I stopped. Maybe it’s a reaction to the deeply performative nature of Los Angeles, maybe it’s a non-geographically influenced symptom of maturation, but something changed.

And I'm beginning to think this is the reason my blog is earning the reputation as one of the realist sources of literature on the internet, right next to J-STOR and the Drudge Report. I've actually come to fashion myself as something of a blue-collared champion of pop-literature. Obviously there's little justification for this, aside from the intermittent word on getting laid-off and the occasional tip of the hat to the Big East, but it's what I've been feeling lately.

An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation

1 comments:

jinius said...

i guess i'm about three years too late but just wanted to say your blog is fantastic. i usually don't laugh outloud at too many blogs but i've been guffawing like a crazy person. i hope your sense of humor doesn't change with your new moniker.