What is it about Las Vegas that brings out the worst in some writers? The latest victim shares his thoughts on Las Vegas in Smithsonian Magazine, though I cant imagine why an editor would solicit this kind of superficial “analysis,” much less publish it:
I knew, going in, that I’d feel out of place. The glitz, the kitsch, the acid-trip architecture—Vegas isn’t me. I’m more a Vermont guy. I’ve never actually lived in Vermont, but that doesn’t keep me from thinking of myself as a Vermont guy. Writing a book, however, greatly increased my sense of alienation. Vegas doesn’t want you writing any more than it wants you reading. You can sit by the topless pool at the Wynn all day long, all year long, and you won’t see anyone crack open anything more challenging than a cold beer.And it’s not just books. Vegas discourages everything prized by book people, like silence and reason and linear thinking. Vegas is about noise, impulse, chaos. You like books? Go back to Boston.
via Las Vegas: An American Paradox | Travel | Smithsonian Magazine.
It’s probably 1,500 words long, but it feels much longer thanks to the 5 click-throughs you need to do, and the absolutely vapid writing.
Great, J.R., you saw some T&A, and you had a two-minute conversation with some lady in a restaurant. That doesn’t mean you’ve plumbed the soul of America, or even understand Las Vegas at all.
It’s easy to be contemptuous of other people having a good time–the Puritans elevated it to an art form a few centuries ago. But that says more about the writer than the subject, doesn’t it?
On one hand, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Moehringer spent two years and didn’t have a good time. I get that. But it’s hard not to take what he says personally. I like books, and I live in Vegas. I don’t see any disconnect between the two. And anyone who divides the world between “book people” and the hoi polloi is so ineffably pretentious that…I can’t describe it. But you get the point—really, really pretentious.
That being said, I’ll just mention a few things that I think are really off base in the article. For example, IMHO linear thinking is of definite but limited value. I prefer diagonal thinking–it’s much less limiting.
There are lots of places for silence in Las Vegas. Try Turtlehead Peak, for one: an hour’s hike, and you can look down on the entire valley. It’s beautiful. Or just pick a corner of Sunset Park, or any of the other public parks that dot the valley.
He’s simply wrong that Vegas doesn’t want you writing books. I’ve had no problem writing three books in Las Vegas, and I’m working on the fourth. And as someone who writes a minimum of 5,000 words a month (Vegas Seven, Las Vegas Business Press, Casino Connection, I’m looking at you), I’ve never had a problem finding inspiration or space to write. But I tend not to overthink things, and it’s more a question of, “How many words? When do you want it?” than absorbing writerly inspiration via osmosis or whatever Moehringer does in Fantasy Vermont with all of the book people.
Look, I’m the last person to be a Vegas booster, saying this is the best of all possible cities. It’s just not in my temperament. But I wouldn’t blame any of my shortcomings as a writer on the city. A good craftsman doesn’t blame his tools, or the setting of his workshop. And, like Moehringer, I’m an award-winning author. So there.