When will a writer emerge with something meaningful to say?

Question

Turgenov is widely acknowledged as being the catalyst for the Russian Revolution in 1917 when his "Sketches from a Hunter's Album" highlighted the conditions of the Russian peasant.
When Zola published L'Accuse," in Le Monde, accusing the French Government of corruption, the article brought the government down.
Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" shocked the French middle class and was immediately banned.
D.H.Lawrence did the same when he wrote "Lady Chatterley's Lover."
I've given up on modern day writers. Nobody has anything to say. What are they all afraid of?

Answer 1

I'd like to broaden the context a little to answer your question. I certainly agree with you about modern writers, but I think this applies right across the arts.
Take a moment to cast your mind back across the twentieth century and think of any art form and you'll immediately think of leading figures who worked in that medium and led the way for others. Theatre, film, dance, fine art, music, the novel and so on. Easy, isn't it?
Now think of those same art forms and see if you can think of one - just one - person who's still working at the height of their powers in that medium. Hard, isn't it?
I don't have any explanation about why this is, we seem to live in a time without great figures ( I'd even extend this to other areas of life - sport, politics - you name it) and I wonder if they will return.
And it's a great loss, I feel. The work of, say, Brando, Picasso, Olivier, the Beatles and so on was important in and of itself, but just as important was it's effect on other people working in the arts.
It all feels like a rudderless ship these days. Lots of competence, little true brilliance.

Answer 2

Nobody reads anymore. Writers are dinosars. You want a writer for the modern era? Try Maddox or Mil Millington. With the explosion of literacy since the eras to which you refer, there are probably /more/ writers writing books that could change the world. Actually...Chuck Palahuick(sp?). Guy who wrote 'Fight Club'. He did a good take on modern feminity too, in "Invisible Monsters". But...nobody /read/ "Fight Club". I think I proved my point. Hmmm...Jared Diamond? Whatever it is that triggers the next social revolution, it won't be a book and 'the man' seems to have co-opted music...I'd watch for stand-up comics. Sharon Silverman has some powerful memes in her schtick. And there's somebody growing who actually is the second coming of Bill Hicks. Forget dude's name tho. Sorry.

And no modern writers have anything to say? What about Tom Robbins or Kurt Vonnegut? Granted, they're both preaching to the choir, but they certainly wield large ideas. Going a little more obscure, how about Brautigan and Bukowski? And I personally think CD Payne's "Youth in Revolt" is, besides the funniest book ever written, a deep philosophical statement. But as has been copiously observed, nobody fricking reads books any more. Well, nobody not already inclined toward that kind of deep thinking, and deep thinkers mostly all land in the same place, attitude-wise. Compassion-wise. Whatever. You know what I mean. The people reading the books aren't the ones who need the message, it's the people watching the flickering screen that hafta be reached.

So, who wants to write a teevee show with me?

Answer 3

Interesting question, but I'm not sure I completely agree.

On the one hand, yes, books don't have the same effect they once did -- particularly during the eras of your examples. But that may be less a result of authors having less to say than the fact there are simply so many other forms of media out there.

Sure, the Internet is one -- but there's also TV and radio (conventional and satellite), as well as magazines and newspapers that are much more dynamic and numerous than they were in centuries past.

All that said, I think you need to look a little closer at what books are being published today. Are you sure none of them have brought about change?

One example I can think of off-hand is "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser. It seems to be having a marked effect on many Americans' diets and the fast-food industry as a whole. Notice how many cities/companies are banning trans fats? Hmm, maybe people aren't illiterate after all.

Don't get me wrong -- I appreciate what you're saying. But your argument reminds me of the contention that "all good rock music was made in the 1960s."

Yeah, there's a lot of crap music being produced today. But you just need to look a little deeper and work a little harder to find the good stuff because there are so many more outlets to choose from.

I believe the same holds true for meaningful literature.

Answer 4

Maybe you're the one that's afraid, it's easy to claim that literature has broken a mold of sorts once this has been established and taught by countless authoritys on literature.

Didn't Salman Rushdie write something 'meaningful' with the Satanic Verses (if breaking taboos and upsetting the hierarchy is what you consider to be worthy). After all, he had an entire religion up in arms and a fatwa ordered upon him, governments had to intervene and he had to go into hiding. He wasn't afraid.

However, what I will concede is that the impact of literature is now to a lesser degree, but only because society is more sensitised, especially to the written word. Maybe cinema is the new ground breaker as far as taboos are concerned, maybe you should watch more thought and emotion provoking movies.

Just a suggestion....

Answer 5

They are afraid of not getting a mass market paperback book deal. Flaubert, Zola, Turgenov and Lawrence did not have to compete for space with Danielle Steele and John Grisham, cable television or internet photos of Britney.

There are plenty of good writers right now. The problem isn't the writers, it's the audience.

Answer 6

I don't think books will be a vehicle for change with the advent of the internet (and television). It's easy to find critcisms to anything now, which generally dilutes the message.

For instance, if Martin Luther had to defend the 95 Theses from every single criticism/comment, I doubt the Reformation would've occured.

Can you think of any major, life changing book since TVs became commonplace? I'm hard pressed to think of any life altering texts.

Answer 7

There are plenty of writers with plenty to say., even significant things. Try Kurt Vonnegut ---for one. His "Man Without a Country" is dynamite. If you're looking for a newer author, try Earl Jesse Stevens autobiography called Red Bird Just Like This. Perhaps you should consider the fact that modern man has a very thick shell, and a tin ear. Even those of us who have voices as sounding brass cannot reach the deaf in spirit.

Answer 8

Publishers don't want to touch anything that doesn't simply entertain as this is seen as the prime reason for buying/reading books. Anything that touches on deeper issues is unwelcome right now; plenty gets written, plenty gets sent to publishers and it all comes home with a rejection slip.

Answer 9

I'm not going to get into a philosophical debate with you. Others who have already answered your question have done so remarkably well. I'll just throw out this author's name with a few of her titles: Annie Dillard FOR THE TIME BEING (you probably should read this one first--I think it will appeal to your sensibilities), ENCOUNTERS WITH CHINESE WRITERS, TEACHING A STONE TO TALK. She's timeless in her perception of life.

Answer 10

Whether an author is able to craft something meaningful doesn't matter when the population is largely ignorant...

Go to a mall and ask anyone who won the last 3 American Idols. Now ask them who wrote 1984. I know which question they'll have the correct answer to.