Glad I'm not the only one who has these concerns about the nature of literature today. But while for some authors it's not a crime to have a concentrated interest from which to produce a lot of good novels - Milan Kundera being one example - it's true that a lot of contemporary authors come off as one-hit wonders or one-trick ponies.
Wonder if they're trying to cater to an audience that wants the same thing, but then their fixation on a certain formula or form of self-expression limits them.
Excellent. I think this is my favorite of your essays so far. I agree completely with your conflicted feelings. (Also I Love Moshfegh.) You’re right about the two extreme poles: Old school serious literature on one hand, and millions of wannabe ‘writers’ on the other. It’s true that nowadays to take yourself seriously as a writer is seen as absurd by most people. This is largely because writing as a craft has been degraded. Part of it’s that no one reads anymore. Another is that ‘everyone’s a writer.’ Like you said there are pros and cons on both sides. And there’s middle ground. Thing is: Being a serious writer IS pretentious. But so what? Someone in society’s gotta fill that role.
i always wondered whether you had heard of adam phillips... he (maybe unjustly) appears to me to have a seemingly similar vision to yours (albeit a very different style).so, well, ill just put a link here to something i liked: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v19/n14/adam-phillips/getting-ready-to-exist
Glad I'm not the only one who has these concerns about the nature of literature today. But while for some authors it's not a crime to have a concentrated interest from which to produce a lot of good novels - Milan Kundera being one example - it's true that a lot of contemporary authors come off as one-hit wonders or one-trick ponies.
Wonder if they're trying to cater to an audience that wants the same thing, but then their fixation on a certain formula or form of self-expression limits them.
Excellent. I think this is my favorite of your essays so far. I agree completely with your conflicted feelings. (Also I Love Moshfegh.) You’re right about the two extreme poles: Old school serious literature on one hand, and millions of wannabe ‘writers’ on the other. It’s true that nowadays to take yourself seriously as a writer is seen as absurd by most people. This is largely because writing as a craft has been degraded. Part of it’s that no one reads anymore. Another is that ‘everyone’s a writer.’ Like you said there are pros and cons on both sides. And there’s middle ground. Thing is: Being a serious writer IS pretentious. But so what? Someone in society’s gotta fill that role.
This is relevant: https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/why-i-write-an-unpopular-perspective