Re: [ADS-L] Stephen King's grocery list (1992?)

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

Not too different in spirit from "I could rsun on a laundry ticket and beat 
those political bums!" (New York Mayor La Guardia, I think, in the 1930s).

In a message dated 8/6/06 6:27:12 PM, james.callan at COMCAST.NET writes:


> That could easily be where I first read it -- I was a voracious King fan 
> through most of the '80s. I wonder if there are published critics who actually 
> said that, or if King was just paraphrasing?
> 
> I'm not surprised to find out that the trope predates King, though.
> 
> -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> > From the Afterword to _Different Seasons_, 1982.
> >
> > "The result of all this is that, when it came to the novellas you've
> > just read, I found myself in a puzzling position.  I had gotten to a
> > place with my novels where people were saying King could publish his
> > laundry list if he wanted to (and there are critics who claim that's
> > exactly what I've been doing for the last eight years or so), but I
> > couldn't publish these tales because they were too long to be short and
> > too short to be really long.  If you know what I mean."
> >
> >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "James Callan" <james.callan at COMCAST.NET>
> > > To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 8:04 PM
> > > Subject: Stephen King's grocery list (1992?)
> > >
> > >
> > > > For years, I've heard variations on the idea that Stephen
> > > King could
> > > > publish his grocery list and have a best seller. I've been
> > > trying to
> > > > track down the origin of that idea -- the original quote,
> > > even -- but
> > > > I'm not having much luck.
> > > >
> > > > One of the few related quotes I could find through Proquest
> > > was from
> > > > the LA Times on Jan. 19, 1992, in a parody list of "a few
> > > upcoming films":
> > > >
> > > > "Stephen King's Grocery List." A thriller torn from the
> > > shopping cart
> > > > of America's horror master. Martin Sheen stars as the Evil
> > > Bagel. (De
> > > > Laurentiis Ent.)
> > > >
> > > >
> > > http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=61567469&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=11206
> > > > &RQT=309&VName=PQD
> > > >
> > > > But I'd swear I'd heard that said about him even in the
> > > '80s, when he
> > > > was at the height of his best-selling powers. Can anyone find an
> > > > earlier version of the phrase? Or figure out if it originated about
> > > > Stephen King, or was said about earlier authors?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks.
> > > >
> > > > James Callan
> > > > neologasm.com
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >
> > >
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> > >
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
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> 
> 

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