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I've noticed that there seems to be an invisible wall that distinguishes what "real literature" is from "popular fiction".
For my fellow black readers it's James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, and Zora Neal Hurston vs Omar Tyree, Eric Jerome Dickey, Terry McMillan, and Carl Weber.
For writers I'm sure the CD demographic of posters are more familiar with it seems to be Charles Dickens, James Joyce, Raymond Carver, and Hawthorne vs Stephen King, John Grisham, James Patterson, and Dean Koontz.
Do you feel like there should be a wall separating these genres? Do you feel like both have their place? Do you feel like you are a "literature snob"? Why do you feel the divide was created in the first place?
Last edited by UTHORNS96; 09-05-2010 at 09:02 PM..
Depends why you're reading. Pure entertainment or to learn, think and challenge? I think people who enjoy reading most likely do some of each. A diet of only desserts or only vegetables is not a well balanced one.
I think people should read what the like. Book choices are pretty personal. I don't think anyone should take it out on another if they don't read the same types of books. I think just the idea of "Reading" vs "Not reading at all" is more to argue about!
Today's popular fiction is tomorrow's literature. Today's literature ... no one will remember in 50 years except for a few college professors.
I think I agree with this to some degree. But I'm curious, what would you consider today's literature?
I frequently wonder what will stand the test of time? Harry Potter for youngsters? Blockbusters like "The Kite Runner" or "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo"? Have I read a popular book that my grandchildren will be assigned for school?
What do others think?
PS - To the OP, I am currently on a James Baldwin binge. Can't get enough of his writing. What an interesting life story...
Today's popular fiction is tomorrow's literature. Today's literature ... no one will remember in 50 years except for a few college professors.
I completely disagree. Most of today's popular fiction as defined by thrillers, romances, etc, will be forgotten. Great books - ie, literature - will always remain, whether or not they are read by the masses. That is not to say that all current books defined as literature will be classified as great in the years to come. Time is the ultimate test of literature.
The difference between literature and popular writing is the quality of the writing, and that literature touches on the greater, more universal themes, raising up emotions in the reader that touches people across generations. Popular literature is a street drag race - while literature might be compared to space travel.
I do differentiate between literature and popular fiction. That being said - I enjoy both immensely! I usually go back and forth with each book - or I read a few of one then a few of the other.
I always wonder at what point today's fiction will cross over into literature? And how does a book qualify in the first place? I find so many so-called "literature" books to be turgid and self-important (Moby Dick anyone?) and yes I do read books written more than a couple of decades ago. I have books on my shelves that I consider to be literature and some that are definitely fiction, but these are my definitions, nobody else's. In the end, what does it really matter as long as people are reading?
I always wonder at what point today's fiction will cross over into literature? And how does a book qualify in the first place? I find so many so-called "literature" books to be turgid and self-important (Moby Dick anyone?) and yes I do read books written more than a couple of decades ago. I have books on my shelves that I consider to be literature and some that are definitely fiction, but these are my definitions, nobody else's. In the end, what does it really matter as long as people are reading?
Yes, I think it does matter what people are reading. I don't quite understand why you think Moby Dick is turgid and self-important. I think perhaps you are confusing the style, the issues, and manner of speaking of the time it was written with today's very different manner of speaking.
A good book is an education, an insight into the human condition. I read popular books as well as literature and some of them - but few of them - are well written.
The Kite Runner, to reference a book that is currently familiar to a lot of people, is literature: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is not. It never will be. That doesn't mean it doesn't have some sort of temporary cultural value but thought-inspiring it is not, unless one is a conspiracy theorist.
And while the quality of English in The Da Vinci Code is better than many popular thrillers, it is nowhere near the standard of English in genuine literature such as The Kite Runner, books by Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez, Gunther Grass or Toni Morrison.
In short, popular literature has about as much in common with literature as the verses in Hallmark cards have to do with Shakespeare. The problem with being satisfied with just reading anything, is that you aren't growing your mind. Parents usually don't let their children eat only junk food and reading books is just like that. Mathematically, in school children don't stay at the very basic arithmetic level of 2 plus 2 equals 4 either. Reading only popular literature leaves a person forever at the very minimum levels of literacy.
I don't understand the above bolded part in your post: literature and fiction are not mutually exclusive. And a personal preference is not the standard by which literature is judged. There are standards, and there are experts as well in what is literature, just as there are experts in every field and a non-expert subjective preference is what is ultimately irrelevant.
Who makes the decision as to what is literature and what is fiction? I think if we really look at things, the majority of the literature that we read in school when we were young is still fiction! I don't think that people should judge others because they read fiction. I love fiction!
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