enforced virtue
“We will not tolerate any form of abusive behavior or bigotry in the stories we publish, nor the authors who write them.”
“If it should come to our attention that one of our writers has themselves published hateful material elsewhere, we want to know about it.”
According to Lit Mag News Roundup, two editors were forced off the masthead of literary magazines based on opinions they expressed online. Further, they’ve “seen numerous magazines announce the removal of writers’ work, based on things that writer has said on their personal page.”
Something to think about
The following authors were published before we became politically correct, but could they find a publisher today?
Rudyard Kipling
Instances of racial insensitivity and colonialist arrogance in his writings.
Roald Dahl
According to Dahl, the Jewish people deserved what they got during the Holocaust.
William Faulkner
Controversial portrayal of race and class.
Dr. Seuss
The Seuss estate stopped selling “Mulberry Street” because of the racial stereotype of an Asian man with slanted lines for eyes.
Charles Dickens
He publicly shamed his wife in writing, calling her mentally disturbed and malicious after she became aware of his mistress and they divorced.
In our current publishing environment, will the books of these famous writers survive the controversy? Do we want to lose access to stories such as:
The Jungle Book
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
As I Lay Dying
If I Ran the Zoo
Oliver Twist
This is not meant to condone bigoted or hateful writing. But should the personality, beliefs, or behavior of a writer or artist keep us from experiencing the pleasure of superior work? The first, foremost, and only question should be, Can they write?
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