adinapelle.com

    Since the first quill was picked up by the first writer, simultaneously and more or less juxtaposed, the first critic was born.  The art of writing and critiquing go hand in hand and coexist off of each other for better or worse.

    When I first started writing, I very timidly posted random thoughts, short essays, and biographical short stories on various websites.  I was extremely curious at the type of response I would get and my curiosity was satisfied two folds over.  (I believe that is the saying, I will have to look it up).  It helped me come up with my own view Vis a Vis criticism .

    If religion is the opium of the peoples to paraphrase Nietzsche, I think convention and habit are the painkillers .  I always thought literary criticism should honestly reflect the achievements and failures of literature.  

    However, in a world that offers ever so many social and cultural options, literature has become an elusive choice .  If a writer wants to reach readers, he must first convince them the book deserves to be read.  And to do this he must rely heavily on word of mouth, marketing and last but not least a review written by a respected critic.

    Now, here comes the rub.  No sterile literary theories will attract people.  A book is read or not based on  the sensations it manages to induce and the art of criticism adapted to this new, should I say,  democratic version of the craft.

     It turns out readers want to see attractive elements, find reasons to read a book and not arguments in favor of intellectual criticism .  Any critic who speaks about a book and its intrinsic value is rejected by the public.  People do not care about literary hierarchies anymore.

    I truly believe that somehow, both, writer and reader are shortchanged as a result of this phenomenon.  I have seen mediocre writing climbing the New York Times Best seller list as much as I have seen brilliant work left in obscurity

    I am not sure how to feel about it, mostly because it clearly is a fact already and there is nothing I can do about.  It is like locking your keys in the car.  You see them dangling in the ignition as the car door slams locked.  There is not too much you can do but call AAA.

    As far as my own writing is concerned, I can only hope to maintain an uncompromised thought process and delivery because after all :

” Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.”