The Elegant Variation: TWO WORDS, MR. KIPEN: "BROOKS BROTHERS"

August 29, 2005

TWO WORDS, MR. KIPEN: "BROOKS BROTHERS"

After yesterday's torture ride (55 miles with 4500 feet of climbing in 111 degrees - not that we're bragging or anything), we made a stop at David Kipen's farewell party - guests included D.J. Waldie, Kate Gale and Adrienne Crew - as he prepares to depart for Washington, D.C. to assume the post of Director of Literature for the NEA. For those of you who've wondered what Mr. Kipen looks like when he's at home, here's a fairly representative look:

The highlight of the afternoon was a lively debate between the guest of honor and one of the attendees about whether Gravity's Rainbow is superior to V. (Kipen, a master of all things Pynchonian, opts for the former; his guest made a case for the latter.) He further advised that if, 20 years from now, the whole country wasn't reading Pynchon, he will have considered his tenure a failure.

The story circulating the party was that at the end of his orientation in the halls of DC, he gamely asked if those present had any advice to help smooth his transition. Apparently, a gentleman present is said to have remarked, "I have two words for you, Mr. Kipen - Brooks Brothers." Even if it's not true, it should be ...

We've mentioned before that we first met Kipen on a flight back from BEA, when we were clutching a copy of The Irresponsible Self, which caught his attention. We've been pals ever since and he's been largely responsible for easing our way into the world of L.A. Literati. He's been generous with his time, open to impositions and just a generally all-around mensch. He's smart, passionate, driven, charming - if anyone can reverse Reading at Risk, he could very well be the man. We'll miss him but we wish him every success and we plan to hit him up for a Three-Minute Interview very soon ...

Posted at 10:27 AM in Local Heroes | Permalink

Comments

ROFL over "Brooks Brothers."

Posted by: ed | August 29, 2005 at 11:43 AM

good luck, david! thanks for the kind words of support regarding one of your other passions, the public's right to beach access. i have one question: do you even own a tie?

Posted by: daniel olivas | August 31, 2005 at 05:53 AM

nice story, i like it

Posted by: Busby SEO Test | December 22, 2008 at 08:01 PM

wooow thats realy funny. keep on blogging, you are cool.

Posted by: Phil Vetyon | August 02, 2009 at 04:03 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

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The Elegant Variation is "Fowler’s (1926, 1965) term for the inept writer’s overstrained efforts at freshness or vividness of expression. Prose guilty of elegant variation calls attention to itself and doesn’t permit its ideas to seem naturally clear. It typically seeks fancy new words for familiar things, and it scrambles for synonyms in order to avoid at all costs repeating a word, even though repetition might be the natural, normal thing to do: The audience had a certain bovine placidity, instead of The audience was as placid as cows. Elegant variation is often the rock, and a stereotype, a cliché, or a tired metaphor the hard place between which inexperienced or foolish writers come to grief. The familiar middle ground in treating these homely topics is almost always the safest. In untrained or unrestrained hands, a thesaurus can be dangerous."

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The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

August 29, 2005

TWO WORDS, MR. KIPEN: "BROOKS BROTHERS"

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog. A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog "Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

August 29, 2005

TWO WORDS, MR. KIPEN: "BROOKS BROTHERS"

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE: Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism