"Immersion in the life of the world, a willingness to be inhabited by and to speak for others, including those beyond the realm of the human, these are the practices not just of the bodhisattva but of the writer." --Jane Hirshfield

Friday, September 28, 2007

Wonder Bread, Not Just For Lunch

I came across this meanspirited article condemning works the author deems "kitschy" -- Dave Eggers, Nicole Krauss, et al. Seems they are not cool enough, i.e., they like feel-good emotions and stories with happy endings. It eventually amounts to a diatribe against popular culture, as we knew it would. I wish the author had condemned the mindlessly negative, pessimistic works that get published and lauded as high art. It appears his disdain is reserved for those that sell well. Some of which are kitschy, sure, but a happy ending is no guarantee of lower quality, just as an unhappy one is no guarantee of art.

And is trauma really never overcome? That's what literature is part of, dealing with it on a social and/or personal scale.

I guess it's just not cool to have hope any more.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Translation of this article: Why doesn't anybody care about meeee? Sour grapes, start to finish.