Nearly 50 years ago, a sixteen-year-old high school student named Bruce McAllister sent out a thoughtful questionnaire about symbolism to 150 famous authors, and the replies he received offer a handy way to compare the writers' personalities. The Paris Review published a handful of the responses on Monday, pasting scanned images of the aging pages between a little bit of what-it-means commentary from archivist (and winner of the New York Times wedding announcement lottery) Sarah Funke Butler.
All the Sixties-era literary legends are in there. Jack Kerouac thinks "symbolism is alright in 'fiction.'" Norman Mailer is "awfully sorry, but [he simply doesn't have time] to answer your questions on symbolism." John Updike's handwriting is pretty much illegible so we're not sure what he wrote. Ayn Rand makes herself and her attitude about this silly questionnaire very clear in her reply:
However, our favorite reply comes from Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury who, in the most comprehensive of all replies, actually seems to show his solidarity with the Occupy movement—48 years before its founding—when he signed his letter as follows:
I actually thought a similar thing as Ayn Rand did when I first read the questionnaire form and was glad to see someone finally adress the limiting definition asserted by the student.
And while I have many more thoughts about the body of responses (may comment over there later) I had an “eye roll” moment when I saw Ray Bradbury’s sign off. Thinking he somehow foresaw a graphic novel turning a caricature’s mask into a symbol for anarchic protest gave me a good laugh.
While emphasizing a fair point, I find Ayn Rand’s reply tainted with an air of pretension. Considering her lengthy, near rambling writing style, I would’ve thought she could spare the poor kid the lecture and just answer the question.