introducing readers to writers since 1995
May 29, 2004
The State of Mayne
by Ron HoganCatherine Bennett of The Guardian considers the possible implications of the arrest of children's author William Mayne for sexual assaults on children committed in the 1960s and early 1970s (as detailed here). Will publishers stop keeping his books in print? Will bookstores and libraries pull their copies of his books from the shelf?
If his crimes did justify the purging of every Mayne title from public display, this would be a precedent, surely, for reconsidering the position of all sorts of authors, from William Burroughs, (killed his wife) and Jeffrey Archer, (sentenced for perjury) and Malory (rape) not to mention a reassessment of the claims of numerous misfits and demi-creeps - Dodgson, Barrie, AA Milne, Kingsley, Grahame - who double as luminaries of children's literature.
The hypothesis immediately following, however--"if the best children's writing emerges from a special, unusually powerful connection with childhood...then the best children's authors are always likely to include the significantly messed up"--seems to be stretching things more than just a bit.
I don't pretend to have a definite answer to this dilemma: is it possible to separate the artist (as a person) completely from his/her work of art? Does it matter who created it?
I threw away a Michael Jackson tape when the first rumors about you-know-what emerged in the media. Was it a futile gesture or a moral stand? I don't know. It just felt right at the time.
Imagine the following scenario: a 90-year-old handwritten book of poetry by some anonymous author is found in an attic. The book becomes a smash success. There is a movie, and music CD with the poetry set to song....
Then, someone proves beyond a doubt who wrote the poems: the young Adolf Hitler. The readers are stunned, angered, in denial, deeply embarrassed, utterly confused.
What would you do, if you were one of those surprised readers? :-S
-A.R. Yngve
http://yngve.bravehost.com
If you're going to throw away all art that was created by artists of more or less questionable personal lives, you will be throwing away a LOT of art.
Seems to me that with all creative types, there is rather more of a chance that the person will be somewhat personally twisted. That doesn't change the fact that as creators, they tap into something deeply universal, which may have a purity and nobility that is almost unbelievable considered in the context of the person.
Posted by: CompassRose at May 31, 2004 08:59 AMyour PayPal donation
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