The problem I have with literature is not the writing or the writers, but the analysts and people who align themselves with one type of literature or another, clinging to their specific field of understanding with the fervor of a pitbull holding on to a kill. I don’t feel that way about writing. I feel like story is central and I can relate to a number of stories and and number of genres and find value in all of them. I don’t rank them. I don’t act as though one ‘genre’ or style has more meaning than the other. I can accept that there is good and bad writing. I can accept that there is value in both.
As I write this I am looking at the spine of a text entitled, The Literary Essays of Ezra Pound. Certainly there is some good stuff in there. Ezra Pound was a G. He was able to take a few scant words and carve an impression in my head that never leaves. That is powerful magic right there. Stephen King does the same thing. Craig Alanson fills me with joy every time I pick up one of his books to listen to (I’ve only ever listened to C.A. and never enjoyed the work in the classic sense).
I believe in all of these writers. I believe they all have value, but to speak of literature you will only hear one of them mentioned. To speak of wealth and breadth of readership and reach you’ll hear a different one mentioned. That is a lasting curiosity of writing–who decides who is great.
I rant, but I do feel there is value in the argument. What is and isn’t literature should not determine what is or isn’t enjoyed. We should not set our culture into castes based on who and what we read or watch or listen to, though we always have. Those at the so-called top of the ladder separate themselves with the trappings of wealth but add to that refinement the concept of what should be consumed and what level of intellect is required to understand such things. I find this false, false, false.
True value in writing is the connection that is established with the reader and how those words we write help them see themselves and their world in a different light and how those words help them travel a little further down their own road to enlightenment.
Some Thoughts:
- The way to stop from drowning in a well of emotion you cannot do anything about is, for a moment, to think about anything else. Channel that into becoming your life preserver. Float on ring of thoughts that are utterly disconnected from the situation that is your reality. This is how and why people fall into addiction–it presents an escape from everything around them.
- In theory this is not healthy, but in practice it sure as hell can and should be healthy. It should be a smart way to disconnect; to free your mind from the thoughts that are drowning you and to present you a moment to breathe and to consider ways that you can fix that reality. Of course, in practice people tend to cling to the other world–the escape becomes the reality and this is a very bad and destructive thing.
- As with all of the universe the key is balance. Even if balance is a temporary act.