Voices
Here are some of the issues that
this question raises.
* An author is not separate
from the work they create. On the
most basic level, that’s clearly
true. Books do not emerge from
the heavens, using authors as
lightning rods to connect publishers and eternal truth. Novels are
written by people whose ideas,
childhoods, beliefs, inspirations
are placed in a hot subconscious
for a few decades until they’re
ready to serve.
Some people’s work is deliberately constructed around ideas of
themselves and their character —
Paula Deen, to take a now-notorious example — which means that
anything objectionable about the
person also impacts everything
about their work.
However, a person who has bigoted views will not always create
work that is itself necessarily bigoted (or, importantly, vice versa).
Writers do not have complete
control over the meanings and
interpretations of their work, in
their own age or those that follow,
and themes that are unintentionally misogynist, racist — or prolesbian, pro-choice for that matter — might still emerge as clearly
advocated in a text despite the
ANDREW
LOSOWSKY
HUFFINGTON
07.28.13
personal politics of the author.
Perhaps the best thing is always
to be aware that every cultural
product you consume contains
subtexts and interpretations beyond what the author might intend (but that also sometimes
might be intentional) — and if
you’re reading a book by someone whose views about a particular percentage of the population
you know to be controversial, be
A person who has
bigoted views will not
always create work that is
itself necessarily bigoted.”
hypervigilant to see if and when
their prejudice might be showing.
And it’s doubly difficult to
separate an author from their
work, because...
* Publishers and media encourage us to connect books with their
authors. We are in an age of the
cult of author. If you have a new
book coming up for a major publisher, they will expect you to become a personality, for both readers and media, across multiple
platforms. No matter the subject
of your fiction, your personal story