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Updike slams modern American fiction
Derek Fleming
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: News
John Updike, an award-winning American author, faced difficult questions from a crowd of fans at the Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento on Nov. 11.
Updike has been one of the most prolific and celebrated writers in the U.S. for several decades. He has won every major literary prize in the country. In addition to winning two Pulitzer Prizes, Updike is one of only a few people to have won both the National Medal of the Arts and the National Medal for Humanities.
Updike told the crowd that he finds modern American fiction boring. He said that current writers are not producing books that challenge readers.
"I think there aren't these books that are deeply meaningful and life-transforming," Updike said.
Updike explained that there were many factors affecting the lack of out-of-the-box fiction in mainstream publication.
"People don't read expecting to find this kind of experience anymore," Updike said. "It just isn't there. It is a questing time for a reader."
He said it could be "writers who are failing to write truly transforming or eye-opening material," but he laid part of the blame on readers.
"As a whole, we are losing the ability to respond to the kind of work in the way that certainly my parents and I did," Updike said. "I rarely read a book that gets me excited anymore. I used to read lots of them that got me very excited."
Updike added that changing mediums of technology have also impacted the art form of "the printed word."
"There is a way in which television and all the other electronic entertainments and distractions have made us stupid as far as the more slowly acquired and quiet pleasures and illuminations of fiction," Updike said.
Douglas Rice, associate English professor, agrees in part with Updike.
"I agree with him about television," Rice said. "The way young people experience the world is in a real condensed form. You need to take time to write and to read."
Rice did not agree with Updike about the lack of eye-opening writers.
"There are a bunch of writers who are pretty lame and pretty famous," Rice said. "It's not so much that there aren't writers - the mainstream press isn't publishing them."
Rice said the problem is American culture.
"Americans want everything to be the same. They want everything to conform," Rice said. "We see it in our architecture and our lifestyles. Updike is right about that."
Rice said the novels being published by the mainstream publishing companies are often painfully boring. He said these companies publish books like the Harry Potter series and Steven King, books that will sell a lot of copies regardless of whether they are good.
Rice said revolutionary work is being published by small companies.
"When Updike was a younger man, the mainstream press was publishing better books. That's what he's talking about. He's talking about the wrong thing," Rice added.
Michael Sutcliffe, teaching associate in English, said there are many young writers doing creative and challenging writing, including Rice.
Rice is the author of the novel "Blood of Mugwump," which, along with several other books, was brought before a 1997 congressional committee investigating obscenity in American literature.
Rosa Mills, junior child development major, said people, in general, aren't reading and therefore are not writing anymore.
"I don't think I have any friends that read anything but textbooks," Mills said.
Ehren Anglin, mastering in teaching English to speakers of other languages, said "some people hate to read because of their experiences in school."
Updike was in Sacramento, hoping to get people to read. He was promoting his newest book, titled "The Widows of Eastwick." The novel is a sequel to his 1989 novel, "The Witches of Eastwick." Updike said it would likely be his last sequel.
Updike was introduced by Jonathan Price, Sac State English professor. Pam Houston, director of creative writing at University of California, Davis, asked prepared questions of Updike and had him read from his new book.
Price said he was surprised to hear Updike say he does not get the same thrill out of literature, and that Updike prefers writing short stories to novels.
"I would have guessed otherwise, that was kind of interesting," Price said. "Personally, I think his novels are the great literary form and genre of all types."
Updike recently finished a compilation called "The Best American Short Stories of the Century."
Derek Fleming can be reached at dfleming@statehornet.com
Updike has been one of the most prolific and celebrated writers in the U.S. for several decades. He has won every major literary prize in the country. In addition to winning two Pulitzer Prizes, Updike is one of only a few people to have won both the National Medal of the Arts and the National Medal for Humanities.
Updike told the crowd that he finds modern American fiction boring. He said that current writers are not producing books that challenge readers.
"I think there aren't these books that are deeply meaningful and life-transforming," Updike said.
Updike explained that there were many factors affecting the lack of out-of-the-box fiction in mainstream publication.
"People don't read expecting to find this kind of experience anymore," Updike said. "It just isn't there. It is a questing time for a reader."
He said it could be "writers who are failing to write truly transforming or eye-opening material," but he laid part of the blame on readers.
"As a whole, we are losing the ability to respond to the kind of work in the way that certainly my parents and I did," Updike said. "I rarely read a book that gets me excited anymore. I used to read lots of them that got me very excited."
Updike added that changing mediums of technology have also impacted the art form of "the printed word."
"There is a way in which television and all the other electronic entertainments and distractions have made us stupid as far as the more slowly acquired and quiet pleasures and illuminations of fiction," Updike said.
Douglas Rice, associate English professor, agrees in part with Updike.
"I agree with him about television," Rice said. "The way young people experience the world is in a real condensed form. You need to take time to write and to read."
Rice did not agree with Updike about the lack of eye-opening writers.
"There are a bunch of writers who are pretty lame and pretty famous," Rice said. "It's not so much that there aren't writers - the mainstream press isn't publishing them."
Rice said the problem is American culture.
"Americans want everything to be the same. They want everything to conform," Rice said. "We see it in our architecture and our lifestyles. Updike is right about that."
Rice said the novels being published by the mainstream publishing companies are often painfully boring. He said these companies publish books like the Harry Potter series and Steven King, books that will sell a lot of copies regardless of whether they are good.
Rice said revolutionary work is being published by small companies.
"When Updike was a younger man, the mainstream press was publishing better books. That's what he's talking about. He's talking about the wrong thing," Rice added.
Michael Sutcliffe, teaching associate in English, said there are many young writers doing creative and challenging writing, including Rice.
Rice is the author of the novel "Blood of Mugwump," which, along with several other books, was brought before a 1997 congressional committee investigating obscenity in American literature.
Rosa Mills, junior child development major, said people, in general, aren't reading and therefore are not writing anymore.
"I don't think I have any friends that read anything but textbooks," Mills said.
Ehren Anglin, mastering in teaching English to speakers of other languages, said "some people hate to read because of their experiences in school."
Updike was in Sacramento, hoping to get people to read. He was promoting his newest book, titled "The Widows of Eastwick." The novel is a sequel to his 1989 novel, "The Witches of Eastwick." Updike said it would likely be his last sequel.
Updike was introduced by Jonathan Price, Sac State English professor. Pam Houston, director of creative writing at University of California, Davis, asked prepared questions of Updike and had him read from his new book.
Price said he was surprised to hear Updike say he does not get the same thrill out of literature, and that Updike prefers writing short stories to novels.
"I would have guessed otherwise, that was kind of interesting," Price said. "Personally, I think his novels are the great literary form and genre of all types."
Updike recently finished a compilation called "The Best American Short Stories of the Century."
Derek Fleming can be reached at dfleming@statehornet.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
John Lewis
posted 11/20/08 @ 7:59 AM PST
I don't really think it is fair to say Updike "slammed" modern literature. First, you do mention in your story that he laid part of the blame on readers -- what I got from his comments was that readers were more to blame than writers, and that "readers" included himself. (Continued…)
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