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Thread: The Future of Great Literature

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    Registered User hawthorns's Avatar
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    The Future of Great Literature

    AuntShecky's post got me thinking about some questions that have been stewing in my mind for some time. As we become increasingly a Facebooking/Twittering society, will interest in great literature diminish or increase? It seems logical, especially with the popularity of Kindles/ereaders/free pdfs/etc., that interest should flourish in every genre, but I'm not sure what the trends are showing. That of course brings up another question: how do the great writers of today compare with the greats of yesterday--say, the top 30 on Litnet's Top 100 Authors Post?

    I've only recently become a reader (almost exclusively classics), after a lifetime of athletics. Therefore, because I have very little perspective on literature's development, I wondered what the opinions are of the more informed.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    society has changed a lot over the years, I don't really think our current time is really that different.

    And yes, e-readers, ipads and the like have actually helped people read more IMO. Add to that the fact that the Classics are mostly free for such devices and you have evidence to suggest that the Classics will at least maintain their popularity.

    after all, they've been popular for generations for a reason.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Wegwerfer View Post
    society has changed a lot over the years, I don't really think our current time is really that different.

    And yes, e-readers, ipads and the like have actually helped people read more IMO. Add to that the fact that the Classics are mostly free for such devices and you have evidence to suggest that the Classics will at least maintain their popularity.

    after all, they've been popular for generations for a reason.
    The classics are historical and that's it. They were powerful and the reason was that the world was cutural. But culture has been overcome and the classics will never come back to the foreground again. They are historical pieces in a museum. What matters reason? All animals think and reason. What matters today is science and marketting. The classics are cheap because they no longer carry avantgarde weight.

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    Alea iacta est. mortalterror's Avatar
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    I think that as Asia rises our literature will incorporate more eastern influences. The academic canon is sure to incorporate classics like The Mahabharata, The Dream of the Red Chamber, and the Shahnameh into the curriculum along with the Iliad, The Divine Comedy, and Hamlet. Western writers will write more like eastern writers and vice versa.

    The amount of good literature will increase because there are more people writing and reading than ever before but the formats will likely change. You're probably more likely to get a great novel than an epic poem, and you will probably see more great movies than great plays.
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    Artist and Bibliophile stlukesguild's Avatar
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    AuntShecky's post got me thinking about some questions that have been stewing in my mind for some time. As we become increasingly a Facebooking/Twittering society, will interest in great literature diminish or increase? It seems logical, especially with the popularity of Kindles/ereaders/free pdfs/etc., that interest should flourish in every genre, but I'm not sure what the trends are showing. That of course brings up another question: how do the great writers of today compare with the greats of yesterday--say, the top 30 on Litnet's Top 100 Authors Post?

    I've only recently become a reader (almost exclusively classics), after a lifetime of athletics. Therefore, because I have very little perspective on literature's development, I wondered what the opinions are of the more informed.


    Well... those who spend a good deal of time reading "serious literature" have elected to invest a good deal of time and effort... and even money into something that they feel is of great importance. While the number of "literate" continues to increase, I suspect that those who are "serious" readers of "serious literature" will remain a minority. A great deal of "serious literature" is quite challenging and less than immediately accessible to the average reader. At the same time, new technology will continue to make the whole of literature ever more physically accessible. Speaking just of what I have observed over the last 20 years I will state that I am in awe of how much more accessible some works of literature are. Amazon.com and other online marketers allow us browse through a catalog of books far more inclusive than that carried by any bookstore. Various online sites(including various academic sites) offer access to endless books that have been out of publication for decades and longer.

    mortalterror- I think that as Asia rises our literature will incorporate more eastern influences. The academic canon is sure to incorporate classics like The Mahabharata, The Dream of the Red Chamber, and the Shahnameh into the curriculum along with the Iliad, The Divine Comedy, and Hamlet. Western writers will write more like eastern writers and vice versa.

    The amount of good literature will increase because there are more people writing and reading than ever before but the formats will likely change. You're probably more likely to get a great novel than an epic poem, and you will probably see more great movies than great plays.


    Yes. But then again we have already seen the influx of Asian influence for some decades now... especially in the West Coast presses and among West Coast poets/writers. As China, Japan, India, and Korea grow in influence, wealth, and power their literature cannot help but become of interest to us in the West. At the same time, I suspect that the Middle-east and Latin-America (especially in the United States) will play an increasing role.

    As for the forms literature will take... in the era of Twitter and Facebook and rapid soundbites, I suspect there is some validity to the question as to whether this will impact literary form. Specifically, will the long novel and epic poem become even more a thing of the past? Will poetry employ the use of recording technology and become once again an oral art form? Is the novel suited to the telling of the narrative of our time... or has this moved to film? With the increasing employment of rapid Facebook postings and "tweets" will the brief poem or the witty aphorism become the central literary form of our time?
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    Haribol Acharya blazeofglory's Avatar
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    Today little do we want out of literature since we have so many connections and engagements. I was once an avid reader and now my time is divided between many things. Reading classics is no doubt is one of my pastimes but I watch TV, chat, use Facebook and engage in social and familial programs and the residue of my time is dedicated to literature and I rarely read big and bulky classics

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    Registered User mona amon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hawthorns View Post
    AuntShecky's post got me thinking about some questions that have been stewing in my mind for some time. As we become increasingly a Facebooking/Twittering society, will interest in great literature diminish or increase? It seems logical, especially with the popularity of Kindles/ereaders/free pdfs/etc., that interest should flourish in every genre, but I'm not sure what the trends are showing. That of course brings up another question: how do the great writers of today compare with the greats of yesterday--say, the top 30 on Litnet's Top 100 Authors Post?

    I've only recently become a reader (almost exclusively classics), after a lifetime of athletics. Therefore, because I have very little perspective on literature's development, I wondered what the opinions are of the more informed.

    Thanks
    People are always going to want stories, and they're always going to want poetry. That seems to be woven into human nature, so I guess we are always going to have literature, and a small fraction of it is going to be great.

    Quote Originally Posted by mortalterror View Post
    The amount of good literature will increase because there are more people writing and reading than ever before but the formats will likely change. You're probably more likely to get a great novel than an epic poem, and you will probably see more great movies than great plays.
    I think you're right. Fashions do change over time.

    Quote Originally Posted by stlukesguild View Post
    [COLOR="DarkRed"]As for the forms literature will take... in the era of Twitter and Facebook and rapid soundbites, I suspect there is some validity to the question as to whether this will impact literary form. Specifically, will the long novel and epic poem become even more a thing of the past? Will poetry employ the use of recording technology and become once again an oral art form? Is the novel suited to the telling of the narrative of our time... or has this moved to film? With the increasing employment of rapid Facebook postings and "tweets" will the brief poem or the witty aphorism become the central literary form of our time?
    I do not know about the epic poem, but I think the long novel will be there for a while. Example: Haruki Murakami's newly released IQ84 is almost 1,000 pages, I think, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at 700 pages is really long for a kids book, but that didn't put them off.
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  8. #8
    Alea iacta est. mortalterror's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stlukesguild View Post
    As for the forms literature will take... in the era of Twitter and Facebook and rapid soundbites, I suspect there is some validity to the question as to whether this will impact literary form. Specifically, will the long novel and epic poem become even more a thing of the past? Will poetry employ the use of recording technology and become once again an oral art form? Is the novel suited to the telling of the narrative of our time... or has this moved to film? With the increasing employment of rapid Facebook postings and "tweets" will the brief poem or the witty aphorism become the central literary form of our time?
    I don't think that twitter and facebook can supplant novels or movies as a dominant artform. They are too limited to be an important form of communication. Most famous maxims, aphorisms, and epigrams wouldn't fit into the 140 character limit. You can explore small simple ideas with a tweet but you cannot address anything profound, difficult, and multifaceted. That's not a new thing. People have been complaining about the sound bite, the 30 second commercial, the 3 minute music video, and the half hour sitcom (itself broken up into 7 minute acts) for decades. They haven't been at all effective in supplanting actual books and conversation. On the contrary, podcasts have shown a move toward an older lengthier style of communication not seen since the early days of radio.

    Quote Originally Posted by stlukesguild View Post
    Is the novel suited to the telling of the narrative of our time... or has this moved to film?
    I don't believe that any one style, genre, or medium is necessary to tell the narrative of our time. I think that all you need is a genius to wield whatever tools come to hand. After all, Michelangelo worked in stone and in fresco. Shakespeare worked in plays and sonnets. Goethe worked in plays, poems, and novels. Which of them was the right medium for the time?
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    Bibliophile JBI's Avatar
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    The Asian influx has hardly begun. 90% of the Chinese canon is not readily available, and that which is translated is hit and miss.

    I suspect more acknowledgement of the near East and India, but that is just me.

    Also, I sense the TV mini-series/drama as an emerging form, which will gain its own merit if it hasn't already in many places.
    Last edited by JBI; 02-17-2012 at 06:09 AM.

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    But then, the dominant form of literature is not romance or novels, but journalism. And Twitter and facebook are pretty much taking its place, since journalism narratives is about easy access, speed and not quality.

    I do not know if we are going to see a chinese flux, because this demands a interest on chinese language, translations and internet is english dominant, and I do not know if west has more interest on china than china has on us, and it is possible the western works are entering in china more than otherwise. Something like, one JBI for 100 millions NBA chinese fans.

    The opening of internet does not imply better writers, we kind of are in the Gutenberg momment, Cervantes still need to come. So far the main impact is about distribution and copyrights, and this affects too little Dante and cia. I suspect politcal changes and economical will be more important than Internet - Europe and USA are moving down in the tables, its not as easy to impose cultural dominance asking money to the third world. And with a proper politic, third world countries literacy will give a jump and i am certain they will form a mass of readers that will be more interessed on modern works than past works, and this may be the impact, a bit similar as the impact caused by USA on XIX-XX century.

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    Artist and Bibliophile stlukesguild's Avatar
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    I don't think that twitter and facebook can supplant novels or movies as a dominant artform. They are too limited to be an important form of communication. Most famous maxims, aphorisms, and epigrams wouldn't fit into the 140 character limit. You can explore small simple ideas with a tweet but you cannot address anything profound, difficult, and multifaceted. That's not a new thing. People have been complaining about the sound bite, the 30 second commercial, the 3 minute music video, and the half hour sitcom (itself broken up into 7 minute acts) for decades. They haven't been at all effective in supplanting actual books and conversation. On the contrary, podcasts have shown a move toward an older lengthier style of communication not seen since the early days of radio.

    I'm not suggesting that Facebook and Twitter will become the format through which the future of literature is carried. I am suggesting, however, that the extended exposure to such may indeed impact reading (and thus writing). In other words... the tolerance for the large novels of the 18th and 19th century may have had something to do with the fact that there were few alternative forms of conveying a narrative... telling tales. People were also quite accustomed to writing long letters to friends, family, and loved ones. Here, if you or I or JBI posts a response that measures somewhere near a single type-written page, we are being overblown. We also hear the repeated complaint that this or that book has "too much description". Students today are expected (demanded) to read quite a bit less than when I was in school (not all that long ago). I simply wonder whether these trends will or will not impact future writing.

    I don't believe that any one style, genre, or medium is necessary to tell the narrative of our time. I think that all you need is a genius to wield whatever tools come to hand.

    Perhaps... but context plays a role. It is doubtful that Michelangelo would have had the same impact had his paintings been rendered in illuminated manuscripts or even as small canvases. It is also doubtful that they would have been as central to art history had they been painted in Norway.
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    Here, if you or I or JBI posts a response that measures somewhere near a single type-written page, we are being overblown. We also hear the repeated complaint that this or that book has "too much description". Students today are expected (demanded) to read quite a bit less than when I was in school (not all that long ago). I simply wonder whether these trends will or will not impact future writing.
    This is quite true. Even if you consider school text books you will find very short extracts of material in comparison with books ten, or even five years ago. Exam extracts are shorter too. As for the curriculum demands of full text reading, I've already posted just how little is required reading in UK state schools in other threads. Technology in the internet/facebook/twitter and similar such things, as well as texting and computer gaming, has had a significant detrimental impact on people's ability to read and write at length and on general concentration levels as well. The fallout of such instant technologies, although fine in their own right in small doses, means that the instant gratification/"I'm bored" culture is all too apparent and will surely impact on what is being read (and not read) now and in the near future.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Neely View Post
    This is quite true. Even if you consider school text books you will find very short extracts of material in comparison with books ten, or even five years ago. Exam extracts are shorter too. As for the curriculum demands of full text reading, I've already posted just how little is required reading in UK state schools in other threads. Technology in the internet/facebook/twitter and similar such things, as well as texting and computer gaming, has had a significant detrimental impact on people's ability to read and write at length and on general concentration levels as well. The fallout of such instant technologies, although fine in their own right in small doses, means that the instant gratification/"I'm bored" culture is all too apparent and will surely impact on what is being read (and not read) now and in the near future.
    As someone at the cutting edge, you are in a better position than I to make an assessment of the impact of Information Technology on the medium, but It seems fairly obvious that a fundamental change in peoples' approach to literature is taking place. The cult of instant gratification is one facet of this but there may be others. The main reason I joined this forum was to get some insight into what people are reading nowadays as opposed to when I was younger, but the kind of books that are being discussed do not tempt me to read them. Despite the advent of texting, computer gaming etc. there are still some very long, multi-faceted novels of the 'post modernist' kind, but reading the views of those who have read them, they come across as obscurantist navel gazing, rather than novels per se, and this may be the view of others who are turning away from literature. It is worth remembering that Ernest Hemingway was also a forerunner of the minimalist style of writing even though it wasn't necessarily a reflection of people's short attention span relative to the technological advances following the First World War.
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    Quote Originally Posted by cafolini View Post
    The classics are historical and that's it. They were powerful and the reason was that the world was cutural. But culture has been overcome and the classics will never come back to the foreground again. They are historical pieces in a museum. What matters reason? All animals think and reason. What matters today is science and marketting. The classics are cheap because they no longer carry avantgarde weight.
    What matters today is science and marketing? The classics are museum pieces? The classics are cheap and no longer carry any weight?

    Bollocks. The classics are still powerful. The writings of the Greeks are as vital today as they were when they were written. The great literature of the past will never go out of fashion and that is precisely what makes it great. The microscope and telescope are both blind to the reality of the human condition. Your world Cafolini is a moon-like desolate orb, a hunk of dead material, inanimate without the wind, water and fire, without the life, of imagination.

  15. #15
    As stated in the quotation by C.S. Lewis, literature not only describes reality but also adds to it. Yes, literature is not merely a depiction of reality; it is rather a value-addition. Literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are a depiction of the different facets of common man's life. Classical literary works serve as a food for thought and a tonic for imagination and creativity. Exposing an individual to good literary works, is equivalent to providing him/her with the finest of educational opportunities. On the other hand, the lack of exposure to classic literary works is equal to depriving an individual from an opportunity to grow as an individual.

    Prose, poetry, drama, essays, fiction, literary works based on philosophy, art, history, religion, and culture and also scientific and legal writings are grouped under the category of literature. Creative nonfiction of the ancient times and literary journalism also fall under literature. Certain extremely technical writings such as those on logistics and mathematics are also believed to be a part of literature.
    Last edited by christinamellow; 02-21-2012 at 02:37 PM.
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