Friday, June 22, 2012

The Divide

I’ve been mulling over a recent quote from trendy writer George Saunders, which I saw on the Guernica magazine web site.

George Saunders, talking about fiction writers: “The essential thing is having a talent for having talent.”

Saunders seems to be saying that what’s important isn’t being genuine, but being as un-genuine as possible. This sums up the entire postmodern literary philosophy. For such writers, writing is a con, a game. Which leads us to the ultimate expression of the philosophy: John Hodgman.

It’s a decayed, insular, and corrupt scene. No wonder those inside the scene fear those who seek to change it. They know they’re Potemkin writers operating on borrowed time.

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