Tarzan

Pulp fiction writer Edgar Rice Burroughs died on this date in 1950 at the age of 74. Burroughs was definitely a product of his times (Richard Slotkin's book Gunfighter Nation features some excellent, insightful commentary on the underlying racism of Burroughs's novels), but he was also the creator of Tarzan*, one of the twentieth century's most memorable literary icons, and that's nothing to sneeze at. We here at Wordcandy doff our (nonexistent) hats to him.



*The now defunct Book magazine placed Tarzan at #79 on their list of "The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900", right between The Dog of Tears, from Jose Saramago's Blindness (at #78) and Nathan Zuckerman, from Philip Roth's My Life As a Man (at #80). This list, which placed THREE James Joyce characters higher than Winnie-the-Pooh (!!!) and one of 'em (Leopold) higher than Sherlock Holmes, was one of the motivating forces behind Wordcandy's formation. The whole thing irritated the hell out of me.
Posted by: Julianka

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