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.