After telling the story of my life multiple times, and wondering if we could go back to our favorite era in the Oxford time machine in Connie Willis’ masterpiece, Blackout, I suggested we play Artist or Craftsman.

You may not have heard of this game.  That’s because I made it up while we were sitting under the kissing tree.  The so-called kissing tree is embracing rather than kissing: it consists of two trees with intertwined branches. We did not launch into the full-body make-out session that would have ensued when we were young.  Once in those hallowed days, a cow stood in front of the fence watching us. It was either bored or fascinated.  Hard to tell with cows. 

And then, after leaving the kissing tree, we went for a brisk walk . Suddenly I got the idea for the Artist or Craftsman? game.   Let me add that I fully expect this to make millions of dollars, or do I mean cents? All I have to do is find millionaire, or perhaps a billionaire, or maybe a trillionaire, or maybe a centuriun, or do I mean a centaur?.  Perhaps a letter to the CEO’s secretary would pave the way. I would begin politely: TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN.

Meanwhile, let’s play Artist or Craftsman!

The first pair is Edith Wharton vs. Willa Cather.  Which is the artist, which is the craftsman?  I will go with tradition:  Edith Wharton is the artist, Cather the craftsman.  Certainly Wharton writes elegantly if not as well as her friend, Henry James, but she invents memorable characters, tragic situations, and unexpected endings. I will never forget Lily Bart in The House of Mirth. She can’t find a husband, so overdoses on laudanum. That is exasperating: what was she thinking? But it is still my favorite of Wharton’s books.

Truth to tell, I prefer our craftsman, Willa Cather.  One of my favorite Cather novels is Lucy Gayheart.  Lucy leaves a small town to study music in Chicago, and eventually becomes the accompanist for a famous singer, with whom she falls in love.  I always cry over the ending. All tears aside, I must say Cather is an artist/craftsman. And Lucy Gayheart is a better book than The Houe of Mirth.

Here’s another charming pair:  Dickens vs. Trollope. Dickens is an artist, while Trollope is often an artist but sometimes a craftsman.  How can I in good conscience call Trollope a craftsman, though, when he wrote masterpieces like He Knew He Was Right?   Still, Dickens is the more innovative, comical, consistent writer.  Life would be less rewarding without Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend.

So it’s a draw between Dickens and Trollope. Let’s hope my husband has a different take so we can argue madly.

And now here’s a simple one:  Booth Tarkington vs. Margaret Mitchell. Obviously Tarkington , who won the Pulitzer for The Magnificent Ambersons, is the artist. The novel, made into a movie by Orson Welles, is a neglected classic, starring Joseph Cotton. .  Margaret Mitchelll, a Pulitzer winner for Gone with the Wind, is a craftsman. Or is she a just a bad writer?  This novel is baggy, poorly written, and I look askance at the characters: in the movie Scarlett (Vivien Leigh) is a bitch, and smirking Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) is not much better.  But here’s inconsistency:  I love the movie! When there was a GWTW revival at the mall, there were only three people there.  Yes, I was one of them.

Well, Booth Tarkington is the clear winner in this round.  My husband is just glad I didn’t make him go to GWTW with me.

Oh, by the way:  it doesn’t matter whom I pair with Sinclair Lewis.  He is a craftsman, but he wins every time.  I love him because he has great ideas, and because he grouchily refused to accept the Pulitzer for Arrowsmith, because he said he should have won it for Main Street.  Love the attitude and love Main Street and Babbitt. Later, he won the Nobel.

Do add your favorite artist vs. craftsman so we have a different point-of-view! I’m counting on you. Who are your favorite artists and craftsmen?