In
Jenny Joseph’s poem, “When I am Old” she proclaims:
When I am an old woman I shall
wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me, …
With a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me, …
She
continues documenting the nonstandard things she will do in her old age and
ends with the thought that perhaps if she starts a bit now, people won’t be so shocked
when she grows old and wears purple.
In my
career as a consultant, I worked with business types who were almost uniformly
conservative in their dress and politics. I soon mirrored the dress code with
my blue pin-striped suits and tasteful ties. (I did wear a short-haired wig for
a bit to cover my long hair, but that was only until I capitulated.)
It was akin
to my being a light-skinned mulatto in the early 20th century who successfully “passed.”
I swallowed my tongue when it came to politics and the denigration of all to
the left of Attila the Hun. Others must have presumed that I agreed with them
since I didn’t object to their worldview.
When I retired
and started writing fiction, I maintained my consulting perspective of not
ruffling feathers. Oh sure, I had personally given up reading and therefore
supporting authors like Vince Flynn with what I perceive to be his “us (the
U.S.) against them” view of the world; but I thought it would be inappropriate
of me to interject my views into my fiction—or take stands in my blogs that
might be offensive to potential readers.
Then I
heard Barry Eisler speak at a writers’ conference. It was like the chime of a
bell, calling me to center my thoughts. He challenged those of us who think
differently from the Vince Flynns of the world to raise our authorial voices.
I had
taken one little step in that regards with a short story I wrote, “MasterGardener” published
in a 2008 anthology. One person in my critique group said, “Love the writing;
hate the politics.” What I had not done then, and has taken me a bit of time to
grapple with was deciding whether my writing should have a purpose greater than
pure entertainment.
My
conclusion is that some things I write solely for entertainment (my own and
hopefully others), and that is fine. Even with that writing, I want to avoid
easy characterizations based on stereotypes—particularly negative stereotypes. But
if that were all I wrote, at the end of life I would feel I had not used my
talents as well as I could.
Not that I expect to write the next Upton Sinclair The
Jungle or be the next Charles Dickens. I am not that talented, but I want
to write in such a way that I positively reinforce those who share my views. For
those who do not share my views, perhaps I can tweak a tiny corner of their
conscience just enough to make them consider my perspective.
What do
you think? Do I have this all wrong? Should writing only be about entertaining
readers? Or have you already donned your authorial purple clothes and are
willing to stand out—to write to make a difference?
~ Jim
5 comments:
Excellent, thought-provoking post, Jim!
I have always thought that, if I was honest and authentic in whatever I wrote, my beliefs would be apparent without my having to beat the reader over the head with them. I think that's what's really behind the "art for art's sake--no politics" position. They hate being beat over the head.
I look at my poetry and my fiction, and I have to say I think readers would have an idea of where I stand on the important issues of the day, even though I don't write anything overtly political.
I think of other authors who do this, as well. Margaret Maron, Julia Spencer-Fleming, John Lescroart, Louise Penny, Nancy Pickard, Michael Connolly, Val McDermid, Deborah Crombie, many others. Without any didactic lecturing, they write so honestly about issues that one knows instantly where they stand.
Linda,
You've made a key point: people do not wish to be bludgeoned with a political viewpoint (or at least one in which they disagree!)
That, as you note, does not mean our worldview cannot imbue our writing through our characters and their acts.
~ Jim
What a beautiful story, Jim. I was quite touched by it, and I could see you share my beliefs. I love the Pete Seeger song you mentioned. Indeed, I've been a great fan of his for many years as well as Woody Guthrie (before my time) and others of his ilk that follow on with their tradition.
I was too busy with small kids to march against the Viet Nam War, but I supported the movement. I did march against going into Iraq. I still think it was a major mistake and only esculated the problems in the Middle East.
Like Linda, I'm hoping my viewpoints subtly come out in my writing without being divisive with those who disagree with me politically. It must be one of the reasons I admire the mystery writers she does - at least the ones I've read. I'll have to read the others, too.
Gloria,
I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I will admit that I still like to read it every once and a while.
~ Jim
As I'm not one who enjoys reading books that have a "message," I doubt I'd want to write those kinds of books either, though I'd probably have a character here or there spout my ideals.
My blog, however, tends to lean toward the didactic or philosophical. It's not always intentional, but since I was told back in high school that my poetry tends to take a didactic bent, I guess I come by it naturally. :o)
Nice post, Jim. I say, Wear the Purple!
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