The Death of Reading? -Reply

[tevans at wpo.nccu.edu]

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It's interesting, though, how many "popular" writers--including King, many
SF authors, etc.--at least pay lip service to the literary canon, however
one defines it.

Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)

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The distinction between popular writing and "literature" is a slippery one.
Writers and stories won't stay put in their pigeon holes. As Don Larsson
says, popular writers sometimes kneel at the altar (am I carrying that too
far?) of the arbiters of literary taste.  But "canonized" writers sometimes
long to be "ruined" with popularity--John Dos Passos, e.g. The academy
routinely prunes and updates its reading lists, making last generation's
best seller this generation's classic; or  we rummage through the
remainder bins for the "forgotten classic." 

Popular taste for chronological order and strong, traditional plotting is
longstanding, but since the popular audience also wants to feel "with it,"
experimental writers do have a chance, especially if they get a boost
from television or film. The MTV generation should be just about ready for
the discontinuities of "V," don't you think?

Tom Evans
NCCU, Durham, NC