The Sufferings Of Me (And How Protestors Don't Help This)

From Omnictionary

The Sufferings Of Me (And How Protestors Don't Help This) is one of four primarily autobiographical works published by William S. Wright[1]. The Sufferings of Me... details the perils that Wright faced upon publication of his incendiary 1984 novel Under the Striped Gazebo. In an interview with Peter Kolpostich, he claimed that he received hundreds of death threats daily after its publication, forcing him to remove all copies from stores in 1986. Sufferings began as a journal formatted project, but was revised frequently because it was "not as angry as I am".¹ The final version was published primarily in the unusual second person point of view, in which Wright directly addresses his readers. "It sounds like he's pointing at me and jabbing the air," stated one reviewer. However, the text includes copies of some of his more interesting death threats and accounts of the litigation that was proposed against those who sent them. Of course, the cases were dropped because all possible jurors were deemed prejudiced, no lawyer really wanted to represent Wright, and no judge would hear the case.

The publication of The Sufferings of Me... marked the end of Wright's most prolific period as a writer and scholar. In fact, until 2002, he was reported to spend most of his days simply staring into one of his six aquariums and making faces. This pattern was finally broken when approached by long-time friend Alfred Mullings with the concept to create a user-generated cooperative dictionary.

Reception

Critics commonly consider this Wright's least edited work, often complaining that it even "sounds childish"³ or that "If Wright spent as much time learning to deal with others as he does whining and staring at fish, we would have heard of him before now."⁴

Supporters of Wright's writing, however, believe that this work is one of Wright's most poignant and salute it as a work that decries the evils of bullying.

References

1. Wright, William S. Keynote Address. National Institute for Neoclinus-blanchardi Gnosis. Marquar Ballroom, MariDame University, San Francisco, CA. 23 May 1987.
2. Garvinski, Angeline. "Books I Hated." School Library Journal. 15 Aug 1991: 467.
3. Fishburne, Frances T. "The New and Not-So-Notable." Breathing Books. 3 Mar 1985: 76.
4. Williams, Marcella. "Autobiography Blitz: What's New This February?" Nonfiction Revue. Feb 1985: 52-65.