Jerks and Great Art

(Cross-posted from Ta-Nehisi Coates)

Growing up, Jack London was high atop my personal literary pantheon. The first time I read "To Build a Fire", it absolutely rocked my world—I mean, who knew you could have a story in which the protagonist's death-by-freezing could be portrayed in such a sweet manner? (That closing vision of "the old-timer on Sulphur Creek" still slays me to this day.) While it may be a stretch to say that I became a writer because of London, I certainly remember thinking t...