The Situation in
A~nerican
Writing
Seven Questions (Part Two)
I.
Are you conscious, in your own writing, of the existence of a
"usable past"? Is this mostly American? What figures would
you designate as elements in it? Would you say, for example,
that Henry James's work is more relevant to the present
and
future of American writing than Walt Whitman's?
2.
Do you think of yourself as writing for a definite audience?
If so, how would you describe this audience? Would you say
that the audience for serious American writing has grown or
contracted in the last ten years?
3.
Do you place much value on the criticism your work has re–
ceived? Would you agree that the corruption of the literary
supplements by advertising-in the case of the newspapers–
and political pressures-in the case of the liberal weeklies–
has made serious literary criticism an isolated cult?
4.
Have you found it possible to make a living by writing the sort
of thing you want to,
and
without the aid of such crutches as
teaching and editorial work? Do you think there is any place
in our present economic system fC?r literature as a profession?
5.
Do you find, in retrospect, that your writing reveals any alle–
gicuu:e to any group, class, organization, region, religion, or
system of thought, or do you conceive of it as mainly the
expression of yourself as an individual?
6.
How would you describe the political tendency of American
writing as a whole since 1930? How do you feel about it your–
self? Are you sympathetic to the current tendency towards
what may be called "literary nationalism"- a renewed
emphasis, largely uncritical, on the specifically "American"
elements in our culture?
7.
Have you considered the question of your attitude towards the
possible entry of the United States into the next world war?
What do you think the responsibilities of writers in general are
when
and
if war comes?
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