Woman Writers

jtur88 · July 25th, 2008, 11:24 AM

It suddenly struck me, browsing in the liesure-reading section of my college library, that more than half of the books were by woman writers. I realize that this is a dangerous subject, since virtually all posters here will be men, but how do you feel about woman writers? Since half their audience will be men, should they pay attention to what we say?

As for me, I have no problem with a GOOD woman writer (like Anne Tyler), but I think the publishing industry is under so much pressure to publish woman writers, and critics to praise them, that they have to dig a lot deeper into the talent pool to come up with enough titles to half-fill the shelves. Women have not yet reached the point in our culture that they experience external life as fully as one needs to to be a successful writer. They've never dodged the draft or hitchhiked to Duluth or thrown rocks through windows or opened a can when there was no can-opener to be had. For the most part, they still write with a timidity, unsure of where the boundaries are. Or, if bold enough, go too far.

What are your thoughts?

July 25th, 2008, 11:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
jtur88 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 7,857	Woman Writers It suddenly struck me, browsing in the liesure-reading section of my college library, that more than half of the books were by woman writers. I realize that this is a dangerous subject, since virtually all posters here will be men, but how do you feel about woman writers? Since half their audience will be men, should they pay attention to what we say? As for me, I have no problem with a GOOD woman writer (like Anne Tyler), but I think the publishing industry is under so much pressure to publish woman writers, and critics to praise them, that they have to dig a lot deeper into the talent pool to come up with enough titles to half-fill the shelves. Women have not yet reached the point in our culture that they experience external life as fully as one needs to to be a successful writer. They've never dodged the draft or hitchhiked to Duluth or thrown rocks through windows or opened a can when there was no can-opener to be had. For the most part, they still write with a timidity, unsure of where the boundaries are. Or, if bold enough, go too far. What are your thoughts? __________________ ------------------ When people ask what I hope to see before I die, I answer that I've already seen too much.