Talk:J.R. Ackerley

Merging the article
I've commented about this at Talk:J. R. Ackerley. John FitzGerald 11:59, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Other changes
I don't think Ackerley was a protege of Forster's; late in Ackerley's life Forster gave him the money to go to Japan, but that's about all the help I can remember. I'm open to argument, though.

However, he most emphatically did not write "many tales of homosexual love." He didn't write many tales at all. Evem We Think the World of You isn't really a "tale of homosexual love." The love he chiefly wrote about was his love for his dog.

I added the dispute tag for the reasons given at Talk:J. R. Ackerley &#8211; it could well be true that My Father and Myself is a fantasy, but before the article says it is some evidence should be provided. I don't think that's the usual interpretation of the book. John FitzGerald 12:09, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

From what I have read about Ackerley, it seems highly unlikely that MFAM is a fantasy. At least his biographer Peter Parker doesn't think so. I suppose what could be called a fantasy about it are is his musings about his father's early life and possible homosexual dalliances. This article lists its source as an encyclopedia of homosexuality and everything in the article refers to Ackerley's homosexuality, which is a very reductivist look at a very gifted and versatile writer.GrimbleGrumble


 * I suspect there was an air of the fantastic about Ackerley's speculation about his father, especially as he seems to have no evidence for it. If that's what was meant, however, it's still debatable. As for his account of his own life being a fantasy, there seems to be enough evidence from other people to confirm it.


 * I agree wholeheartedly with your remarks about interpreting Ackerley simply as a homosexual writer. I think Ackerley himself would have found that hilarious. John FitzGerald 19:29, 2 August 2006 (UTC)