There has been much discussion on the legacy of writer JD Salinger these last few days and his most famous creation “Catcher in the Rye” published in 1951. It struck me that to fully appreciate the revolution that was “Catcher in the Rye” it is instructive to think about what it would have been like to encounter that novel back in the early 1950’s. While it is still an amazing read putting yourself (or at least attempting to) back to 1951 and imaging what it would have been like to read this book then, starts to give the reader a fuller appreciation of how culturally ground breaking it was.
It brings me to mind of an French interviewer who said to Miles Davis that he did not understand what the “big deal” was with he and Gil Evan’s revolutionary “Birth of the Cool” sessions recorded in the late 1940’s, Miles response (typically succinct): “man, you should have heard them back in 1947!”
I think with much great art it is important to try and see it in the context of when it entered the world. If it is great art there will always be a timeless quality, and it will easily transcend its origins, but its time and place within its own culture is always enlightening and will bring a fuller appreciation of the work.
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