I’ve had a hard time writing this letter. Mainly because I am so very busy with new articles and other content. I want to write good letters because in the near future that’s all my free readers will be receiving. As I continue to amass paid subscriptions, I am progressively gratified that what I am doing is worth the cost.
Looking forward to what you have to say about types of story. I personally don't think there should be a sharp division between "high" literature and "low"; It all exists on a continuum, and sometimes a work of "low" or "popular" fiction will exhibit the same stylistic grace and narrative richness that usually characterizes Great Literature (and sometimes, the Great Literature is just utterly boring and not worth reading even if it is "high art").
As to pulp magazines . . . George Orwell wrote a brilliant essay, "Boys' Weeklies", where he critiques the current state of the pulp magazine in 1940s England. The essay is dated, to be sure, but it is a splendid piece of in-depth analysis and my personal favorite example of what literary criticism can achieve. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/boys-weeklies/
Looking forward to what you have to say about types of story. I personally don't think there should be a sharp division between "high" literature and "low"; It all exists on a continuum, and sometimes a work of "low" or "popular" fiction will exhibit the same stylistic grace and narrative richness that usually characterizes Great Literature (and sometimes, the Great Literature is just utterly boring and not worth reading even if it is "high art").
As to pulp magazines . . . George Orwell wrote a brilliant essay, "Boys' Weeklies", where he critiques the current state of the pulp magazine in 1940s England. The essay is dated, to be sure, but it is a splendid piece of in-depth analysis and my personal favorite example of what literary criticism can achieve. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/boys-weeklies/