Beware of Books!

1) From Otis Houston's 3-19-21 PERSUASION article entitled "Beware of Books!":

If we expect literature to fix social problems, we wrongly imagine it as a wrench that might twist the world into a more pleasing position. This is to misunderstand art, which challenges and expands our sense of the world, rather than simplifying it. Art forces us to see with complexity. In return, we must accept that no easy solution awaits. Profound writing is never just an answer.

To read Houston's entire article, click HERE.

2) From Brock Clarke's 3-17-21 LIT HUB article entitled "On the Case for Meanness in Fiction":

What is good for you as a person is often bad for you as a writer. People will tell you that this not true, and some of the people who will tell you that are also writers, but they are bad writers, at least when they try to convince you, and themselves, that the most important thing for a fiction writer to have is compassion.

To read Clarke's entire article, click HERE.

3) From Rebecca Jones' 3-1-21 BBC report entitled "Sir Kazuo Ishiguro Warns of Young Authors Self-censoring Out of 'Fear'":

Young authors may be self-censoring because they worry they will be "trolled" or "cancelled", according to celebrated writer Sir Kazuo Ishiguro.

Sir Kazuo, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017, warned that a "climate of fear" was preventing some people from writing what they want.

He said they may be concerned that an "anonymous lynch mob will turn up online and make their lives a misery".

He told the BBC: "I very much fear for the younger generation of writers."

The 66-year-old said he was worried that less established authors were self-censoring by avoiding writing from certain viewpoints or including characters outside their immediate experiences.

"I think that is a dangerous state of affairs," added the acclaimed author, whose works include The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.

To read Jones' entire report, click HERE.