Tizzies and bitches
This quote seems to have gotten more then a few people in a tizzy. What do you think of it? Is it tizzy worthy?
My personal opinion is that in so-called ‘literary fiction’ the author is the top. You, the reader, are the author’s bitch. You will submit, you will struggle through what he is doing, and you will enjoy it. You exist to serve and service the author. There is nothing wrong with this relationship. It is consensual, and some folks really like it. It is especially appealing to creative writing students, because we aspire to be the top to a whole pool of readers.
With genre fiction, the author is the bottom. The reader is the top. The author exists to serve and service the reader. The author must make the prose good enough to keep the reader coming back for more, and if the author doesn’t, the understanding is that reader will throw the book across the room. The author is the reader’s bitch, there to serve. Take a look at how fiesty genre fans get when their authors aren’t writing books fast enough.
September 6th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
This is always an interesting topic, but it still draws way too much attention and venom. Arguing lit vs. genre is fun, and can be intellectually stimulating, there’s not an answer, and there’s never going to be one. It’s the literary equivalent of debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
I vote it’s only tizzy worthy if you’re interested in riling up someone on the other side with a little incendiary language.