Pankaj Mishra starts off his article saying he doesn’t believe he is a critic but instead says he understands the world on a larger level. Overall in his take on criticism, Mishra stresses the points that literature was and is being taken for granted. What he was saying, to my best understanding, is that many people like the politicians and the wealthy just expect good literature to be there for them, however that’s not always the case. Mishra quotes Kazin many times and backs up similar beliefs in today’s criticism,
What Mishra focuses on for the majority of his article is literature from around the world and not just from America and Europe, he says, “There is no reason to assume that writing from Europe and America is all the matters or should matter to a critic today.” I completely agree with what he is saying here. Mishra gives the example of a well known Chinese critic named Lu Xunn, and I had absolutely no idea who this was. I think that many people in the world, myself included, get too caught up in America and Europe literature because they see that as the most important.
I agree with almost everything Mishra says about literature today, it’s becoming less and less recognized as something the world needs. Mishra says there is “little point in blaming New Criticism” and goes on with it’s not all their fault that that’s what most people are used to reading now. It’s hard to make a change back to what we used to consider good literature. What Mishra is really trying to get out there is that we need to start looking in other places for literature; places around the world have more than we would expect.
I agree that we all have been focusing on the American and European literature far more than world literature. The only problem that I see with trying to read other cultural literatures is that some of them may not be translated, and the problem arises that some of the point of the books will not get entirely across.
ReplyDeleteHaha wow we started our blogs like the exact same way :) I agree, it seemed like he basically agreed with everything Kazin stood for. I didn't really think that the article centered around literature from around the world and not just from America, but I do definitely agree with what he's saying. I think that it's not just other places around the world we have to look for literature, but we also have to look at American literature for more than just critiques and search for deeper meaning that we can learn from to better understand America.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree; It's important to read all sorts of different literature -- whether it be from a different time period, culture, or perspective. Americans are biased in thinking that the only type of literature they might find interesting is American/European. Other cultures have different standpoints that would be enlightening for us to read.
ReplyDeleteI also think that indeed, literature is a dying art. It's something that's been taken for granted in recent years. We need to learn to appreciate it because it gives us incredible insight -- for our past, present, and future.
Right on. I agree with him (and you) concerning worldly literature. We ought to be expose ourselves to as flavorful, foreign literature as we can, thereby empowering our 'intellectual' sides.
ReplyDeleteBut I believe Alex has a good point; ideas writter in other cultures have a more wholesome value because its their mentality.
To be extroadinary, and an exceptional critic, you must deny cultural influence and write in a secular manner, and not everyone does that.
I agree with AO on this one; I don't think it is necessarily the fact that we *want* to only read American and European literature, but that often it is the only literature that is thrown at us or is made available to us. If I saw some other worldly book that looked interesting, I would give it a read; but I might have to look a little harder at Boarders than I usually would.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually similar to what we talked about a week ago during our "Playing in the Dark" discussion about "black literature." Lots of people haven't read many books by black authors because the books aren't pushed in our faces like the classics that exist.
I agree with Mishra's ultimate goal. I just think people need to search harder and dig deeper for more international literature than they are now.