Beautifully written - you have a knack at putting things into words! I've never gotten anything from you remotely in that vein and appreciate your reflective, empathetic posts.HoldThatThought wrote: ↑Mon Oct 31, 2022 3:24 pm I feel that I need to make something very clear: Matt Gaffney's puzzles are uniformly brilliant, so are Mike Shenk's, Peter Gordon's, and Pete Muller's. These just happen to be the authors whose meta challenges I regularly attempt - there are others, including the occasional guest contributors, and our own fellow Mugglers, who astonish me, week in, and week out with their brilliant designs.
I also realize that praise is the eternal quest of (nearly?) every artist, whether it's crosswords, poetry or sculpture - we all want to be acknowledged and appreciated for that which we create. Surely, our own pride and pleasure comes first, but the reinforcement that comes with external praise is affirmation of our efforts.
I also respect that the creation of art is ever evolving. No one wants a world in which every song is a near copy of what has come before (disco era on line one). Artists who stretch the bounds of the medium create new and exciting works, which, in turn, give rise to even more creativity.
I applaud, and am grateful for every puzzle that has ever been offered to me to solve. Someone conceptualized it, brought it to life, and polished it, over the course of many hours. Their efforts keep my pencil and hopefully my mind sharp. Bold and innovative work keeps the challenge fresh and exciting; I am indebted to the creators who never rest and strive for novelty and sparkle.
Please, never assume that a "???!!!" from me is an assault on the author or the craft. Here, for example, I have noted how very impressive the technical accomplishment is - I don't think we have seen anything like this before, and it's a masterwork.
I salute and am extremely grateful to Matt Gaffney for challenging us with it. I hope I have never made a public comment that has discouraged or frustrated a puzzle author, and if I have, I sincerely apologize.
I review books in my spare time, and there is always that delicate balance as well, especially when there is a work that doesn't resonate with you as well as some others. I do my best to make sure that nothing I write devolves into ad hominem remarks, and most of all what I see critiquing crosswords seems fair and grounded. After all, it is that critique that makes us better in the long run, and I try to take all of that into consideration when constructing any metas of my own (shameless self-promotion). There is room for both unabashed praise and constructive criticism in this tent.
I think one thing that is true with Gaffney's puzzles that is astounding - I think @rjy alluded to this as well is how he consistently stretches the bounds of this puzzles. He's been doing this particular series for I think almost 15 years (I lament that I missed more than the first decade), and they still seem fresh and engaging, likely just as much to those unlike myself who have been here since Day 1.
So, again, great, thoughtful post, and I appreciate you (and everyone else) on this forum for their insights and reflections!
ed.
