Monday, March 22, 2010
What do people write? What kind of a world has been created and by whom? We have all created the kind of environment we inhabit. In my view the writer is to explore accurately the kind of world we have through experience and imagination. Graham Greene said that for him there were two kinds of writing: literary or serious and entertainments. Is it possible to combine the two? Or does entertainments refer only the frivolous and enjoyable, like card tricks and magicians' antics?
George Orwell wrote that early in life he "noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper." He also wrote that "anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness." Also he wrote, "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." A final quote from Orwell also rings true, "To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle."
So that struggle to see what is in front of one's large or small nose is among the most worthwhile goals for writing.
George Orwell wrote that early in life he "noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper." He also wrote that "anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness." Also he wrote, "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." A final quote from Orwell also rings true, "To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle."
So that struggle to see what is in front of one's large or small nose is among the most worthwhile goals for writing.
