Huffington Magazine Issue 59 | Page 31

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