Literature is inescapably political. . . . It is in the act of reading that we define our notions about the world, what we judge to be right or wrong, important or unimportant, acceptable or unacceptable; literature is the testing ground of the imagination, where we decide who we are and what sort of society we live in or should be living in. You tell me your favorite novelists and I'll tell you whom you vote for, or whether you vote at all.
-- Stephen Vizinczey
(I originally posted this quotation--my second on the blog--in October 2004)
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And it's still true. Great quote!
ReplyDeleteLezlie
I love this quote!
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent quote and still very, very true! I also like the Oates quote in the sidebar. She's become a favorite of mine of late.
ReplyDeleteOh someone should test this out!! While I think that literature informs and challenges I'd like to know the person who can figure out someone's voting record by their favorites novelists....
ReplyDeleteBut I get the point. Really, I do.
I agree with amy. I'd love to see a list of authors/voting records. There must be one out there.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to note that For Whom the Bell Tolls was featured on NPR this week because it's a favorite of both McCain and Obama.
They didn't say if Bush liked it.
I wonder what my reading says about me!
ReplyDeleteI'm worried...what if I gave him a list and he said I was Republican or a non-voter or something worrisome like that? Yes, we need a test!
ReplyDeleteHmmm....an interesting comment but... the quickest way to get me to disgard a contemporary book is to throw in a politically correct passage!! Seems a refuge of authors with little imagination.
ReplyDeleteOuch...I meant discard!!!! Although, maybe I was combining disregard and discard?
ReplyDelete