William Ashbless: A Fictional Poet by Tim Powers & James Blaylock

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the concept of fictitious authors and the use of nom de plumes in literature, exploring various examples and occurrences of such practices. Participants share anecdotes and historical references related to fictional authors and the implications of writing under pseudonyms.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Historical

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants discuss William Ashbless, a fictional poet created by Tim Powers and James Blaylock, noting his appearances in their works and the collaborative nature of his poetry.
  • Penelope Ashe is mentioned as the fictitious author of "Naked Came the Stranger," with participants reflecting on the humorous and unexpected success of the book.
  • There is a reference to Kilgore Trout, a fictional character associated with Kurt Vonnegut, and the confusion regarding his authorship, with some participants linking him to William Ashbless.
  • Participants highlight Nicolas Bourbaki, a collective pseudonym for a group of mathematicians, discussing the unique style and impact of their publications.
  • Several other fictional authors and pseudonyms are introduced, including Ern Malley, Allan Smithee, and S. Morgenstern, with participants sharing their thoughts and connections to these figures.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the commercial viability of authors using cryptic pseudonyms, specifically referencing Iain M. Banks and his use of initials.
  • A fictional letter writer named Henry Root is mentioned, who humorously engaged with celebrities, leading to genuine responses that were published.
  • The Federalist Papers are cited as an example of works published anonymously under the pen name "Publius," highlighting the historical context of pseudonymous writing.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features multiple competing views and examples of fictitious authors and pseudonyms, with no clear consensus on which examples are most notable or relevant.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty regarding the details of certain examples or the historical significance of the authors mentioned, indicating a need for further exploration of the topic.

TheStatutoryApe
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Tim Powers and James Blaylock went beyond the nom de plume and created the poet William Ashbless apparently as a response (or prank) to the poets printed in the Cal State Fullerton magazine of their time. Since then Mr. Ashbless has made cameos in books by both writers. Two books have been written by the two friends in William Ashbless' name.

Does anyone else know of any fictitious authors or interesting occurances of authors using nom de plumes? I understand Gulliver's Travels was written under a nom de plume by Swift.
 
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Penelope Ashe was the fictitious author of Naked Came the Stranger, a trashy sex novel published around 1970. Each chapter was written by a different person. The result was understandably so bad that it became a bestseller, as predicted by the editor of Newsday at the time who came up with the idea.

For a group of writers at Newsday, one drunken evening in 1966, deciding to follow in the grand footsteps of Jacqueline Susann by co-writing a trashy novel, sounded like the sort of insane joke my friends and I would dream up one drunken evening. The fact these writers saw it rise to bestseller glory upon publication was the perfect punch line. But when I tore open the envelope containing the book, I realized that in the end, the joke was on me -- because I was going to have to read the damn thing. And about three chapters in, it became pretty clear why everyone drank so much in the '60s.
http://www.bookslut.com/fiction/2004_01_001315.php


I first thought Kurt Vonnegut had written books under Kilgore Trout, but it turns out he hadn't, although this was in Wikipedia:

Fictional accounts also link Trout to William Ashbless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilgore_Trout
 
Tojen said:
Penelope Ashe was the fictitious author of Naked Came the Stranger, a trashy sex novel published around 1970. Each chapter was written by a different person. The result was understandably so bad that it became a bestseller, as predicted by the editor of Newsday at the time who came up with the idea.

I first thought Kurt Vonnegut had written books under Kilgore Trout, but it turns out he hadn't, although this was in Wikipedia:
Thank you. Interesting.
Powers and Blaylock wrote the poetry of Ashbless in a similar manner to the book discribed in your post. One would write one line then pass it to the next back and forth. I had found a quote where Powers described it but I can't find it at the moment.
Ashbless has apparently been mentioned by other authors like Kilgore Trout has. That may be where the two have been linked.

Come on. Any one else know of any?
Is it just that no one really pays much attention to this section of PF?
 
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The books they wrote as Bourbaki were noted for their abstract approach, strictly lemma - theorem - corollary presentation, and serenely arrogant tone. And the name "Bourbaki" cme to denote these tendencies in mathematics and was resisted and revolted against by later mathematicians.

According to the story I heard, they got the name Bourbaki from the Greek general Bourbaki, a hero of Greek independence. A statue of him existed in the provincial French college town where one of the group was teaching.
 
One answer to a specific question and one to a general question:
1. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilgore_Trout
Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized version of author Theodore Sturgeon (Vonnegut's colleague in the genre of science fiction), although Trout's consistent presence in Vonnegut's works has also led critics to view him as the author's own alter ego. Trout is also the titular author of the novel Venus on the Half-Shell, pseudonymously written by Philip José Farmer.

2. On the TV show "Castle", Richard Castle is a fictional character who writes novels. There are now 4 novels supposedly authored by him: 3 about Nikki Heat and one a prequel novel about Derek Storm. The latter has acknowledged real author but the Nikki Heat novels have only Richard Castle as an author.

(Since the last preceding note in this thread was 5 years ago, I'd be very surprised in anyone ever reads this note.)
 
The Princess Bride was written by William Goldman, but it's presented as though it's an abridged version of a book by the fictitious S. Morgenstern.

Also, in John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, there is a fairly involved subplot involving the characters' attempts to contact their favorite writer, Peter Van Houten, who "wrote" An Imperial Affliction.
 
  • #10
Nils Runeberg was always my favorite theologian
 
  • #11
Iain Banks publishes sci fi as Iain M. Banks. I don't know how he hopes to secure a fan base with that kind of cryptic subterfuge...commercial suicide.
 
  • #12
2AlphaMales?! said:
Iain Banks publishes sci fi as Iain M. Banks. I don't know how he hopes to secure a fan base with that kind of cryptic subterfuge...commercial suicide.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not but Iain (M) Banks has been a successful author for nearly three decades. His decision to include his initial on his SF books is a good one IMO, it allows people who read his books to easily pick out what they like (i.e. they may only like M books or vise versa). Also in the editions I have of his novels on the inside of the front cover is an advert for of all his books from one name and on the inside of the back cover is an advert for the others.
 
  • #13
Yes indeed I was being sarcastic. Dead pan humour takes on a new light in the world of the internet - I should probably cut it out. I'm a fan of Iain M. Banks (I've read most of the Iain Banks books too) - I just finished "Surface Detail" - a more graphic depiction of (mythical) eternal damnation you couldn't imagine. Not his best mind...unique though...maybe one of the best...excellent : )
 
  • #14
2AlphaMales?! said:
Yes indeed I was being sarcastic. Dead pan humour takes on a new light in the world of the internet - I should probably cut it out. I'm a fan of Iain M. Banks (I've read most of the Iain Banks books too) - I just finished "Surface Detail" - a more graphic depiction of (mythical) eternal damnation you couldn't imagine. Not his best mind...unique though...maybe one of the best...excellent : )
I've read all the culture novels aside from the short story collection, indeed the description of hells in matter was quite horrifying.
 
  • #15
Not sure if it’s what you are looking for but someone created a fictional letter writer named Henry Root. In this guise they wrote many letters to celebrities to which they received genuine replies. Henry Root was a somewhat pompous, sometimes sycophantic, other times confrontational, totally inconsistent character, frequently lacking in self-awareness. The results were published in a series of books in the 1980s and were, as you might imagine, side-achingly funny.
 
  • #16
The Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the essays originally appeared anonymously in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the pen name "Publius." A bound edition of the essays was first published in 1788, but it was not until the 1818 edition published by the printer Jacob Gideon that the authors of each essay were identified by name. The Federalist Papers are considered one of the most important sources for interpreting and understanding the original intent of the Constitution.
. . . .
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/federalist.html

Benjamin Franklin used various pseudonyms:
During the eighteenth century, it was common for writers and journalists to use pseudonyms, or false names, when they created newspaper articles and letters to the editor. Franklin used this convention extensively throughout his life, sometimes to express an idea that might have been considered slanderous or even illegal by the authorities; other times to present two sides of an issue, much like the point-counterpoint style of journalism used today.
. . . .
http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_wit_name.html
There is a list of pseudonyms used by Franklin.
 
  • #17
TheStatutoryApe said:
Tim Powers and James Blaylock went beyond the nom de plume and created the poet William Ashbless apparently as a response (or prank) to the poets printed in the Cal State Fullerton magazine of their time. Since then Mr. Ashbless has made cameos in books by both writers. Two books have been written by the two friends in William Ashbless' name.

Does anyone else know of any fictitious authors or interesting occurances of authors using nom de plumes? I understand Gulliver's Travels was written under a nom de plume by Swift.

Benjamin Franklin often wrote newspaper articles under pseudonyms. He used them to satirize all sorts of things. Franklin used pseudonyms his entire life. Here is one example.
Two years before he died, he wrote an article pretending to be an Arab holding white slaves. The hypothetical Arab rationalized holding white slaves in all sorts of ways. Of course, similar rationalizations were used to justify holding black slaves. This article disturbed many white people in the former colonies. Franklin was one funny guy.

There are a lot more examples. Here is a link on an article on Franklin’s gender-bending personnas.
http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=history_honproj
“Benjamin Franklin's Female and Male Pseudonyms: Sex, Gender, Culture, and Name Suppression from Boston to Philadelphia and Beyond
An examination of Franklin's earlier years provides a useful glimpse into early eighteenth-century culture in Boston, Philadelphia, and New England in general. Using Franklin's earlier writing, this glimpse, then, can contribute to our understanding ofcolonial New England's changing sex and gender stereotypes. Therefore, by beginning exactly where Morgan advises we should not, with the female pseudonym, Silence Dogood, this essay will draw out a lesser-known aspect of an extraordinarily well-known historical figure.”
 
  • #18
It was the norm in colonial America to write under a pen name. Alex Hamilton was a prolific writer and had a very sharp pin, shall we say. His anonymous works were directly involved in the dispute with Aaron Burr as the identies of the more common writers were soon figured out.
 
  • #19
MARK TWAIN MARK TWAIN MARK TWAIN!

How has he not been brought up yet?

EDIT:

He was in the link that Evo posted, but I would still assume that he would be one of the more prominent authors to have used a pseudonym. Maybe the terminology of the OP confused some people, what with it not being the normal term used to describe an author writing under another name.
 
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  • #20
Ryan_m_b said:
I've read all the culture novels aside from the short story collection, indeed the description of hells in matter was quite horrifying.

"Matter" is the one with the aristocratic family, the shell world and the hidden implanted cerebral "matter/anti-matter" explosive suicide bomber device. Surface Detail is the one with the hells and the tatoo'd fem who bites off the baddy's nose at the start. I have read the collection of short stories - 'twas good fun.
 
  • #21
51Bc7SeU5lL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg
 
  • #22
If we're simply listing authors who wrote under pseudonyms then Anthony Burgess should be mentioned. His real legal name was John Wilson. He also originally published some of his books under the pseudonym Joseph Kell.

A propos: in A Clockwork Testament or Enderby's End by Burgess, the title character, Enderby, is giving a lecture to a literature class and suddenly can't remember what he was going to lecture about, so he confabulates a fictional author on the spot:

In a classroom scene, for example, Enderby is unable to remember his planned lecture on minor Elizabethan dramatists and so on the spur of the moment invents a playwright called 'Gervase Whitelady'. He discourses learnedly on this personage for some time, helped on by a student who begins as a know-it-all but ends as a collaborator, earnestly prompting him with the details of Whitelady's life. Enderby abruptly concludes the lecture by dismissing his imaginary playwright as a failure— at which point he recognises his creation as a mirror image of himself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clockwork_Testament,_or_Enderby's_End

It's an interesting book. It's Burgess' fictional self-satire on the theme of what happened to him after he suddenly became famous when Kubrick turned one of his obscure books into a blockbuster movie.
 
  • #23
TheStatutoryApe said:
Tim Powers and James Blaylock went beyond the nom de plume and created the poet William Ashbless apparently as a response (or prank) to the poets printed in the Cal State Fullerton magazine of their time. Since then Mr. Ashbless has made cameos in books by both writers. Two books have been written by the two friends in William Ashbless' name.

Does anyone else know of any fictitious authors or interesting occurances of authors using nom de plumes? I understand Gulliver's Travels was written under a nom de plume by Swift.

HP Lovecraft wrote about a fictional book called the Necromicon.

Borges write about a fictional encyclopedia of Tlon. The world likes it so much that it adopts it and the world becomes Tlon. Great!
 
  • #24
ImaLooser said:
HP Lovecraft wrote about a fictional book called the Necromicon. !
...which was written by the mad Arab, Abdul Harishad. I think that was the name. Not quite a nom de plume, since Lovecraft never wrote any version of the Necromicon. But definitely a fictional author.

Moby Dick was written by some author. Call him Ismael.
 
  • #25
Darwin123 said:
...which was written by the mad Arab, Abdul Harishad. I think that was the name. Not quite a nom de plume, since Lovecraft never wrote any version of the Necromicon. But definitely a fictional author.

The Necromicon is available as a DVD.
 
  • #26
There was Ossian. Accoding to Wikipedia...

Ossian (Scottish Gaelic: Oisean) is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson from 1760. Macpherson claimed to have collected word-of-mouth material in the Scots Gaelic said to be from ancient sources, and that the work was his translation of that material. ... Contemporary critics were divided in their view of the work's authenticity, but the consensus since is that Macpherson framed the poems himself, based on old folk tales he had collected, and that "Ossian" is, in the words of Thomas Curley, "the most successful literary falsehood in modern history."