The Writer In The World

Is there a way in which literature can be political—in the broadest sense—without being partisan or ideological? What is the role of writers in society, and how does the nature of writers' society shape the literature they make? These are the questions the speakers at the Black Mountain Institute's 10th Anniversary Celebration addressed last night. Their answers were as varied as their backgrounds.

Charles Bock quoted James Baldwin saying, "It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who would have never been alive." Regarding groups like Boko Haram and ISIS, Wole Soyinka asked, "Do you think your deity is illiterate? Do you think they cannot read your words or their scriptures?" Vu Tran admitted that fairness feels personal to him, and justice was outside himself because he believes that if he values someone, they ought to value him back.

So yes, no, and maybe. Writing is political, and art. How would you answer?

It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_a_baldwin.html

It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_a_baldwin.html