Thursday, July 5, 2018

Albert Camus on the purpose of writing.


“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.”
Albert Camus -

Reading this quote my first impression is that Mr. Camus took himself way too serious. Accepting his philosophy would put a huge responsibility on my shoulders (or that of any writer.) I rather hope the people who read what I write will leave with two thoughts: First I hope they found it uniquely stimulating and secondly I want them to have enjoyed the read. What do I mean by uniquely stimulating? Well, that should mean different things to different readers.  To one reader it might mean that the plot was unique and interesting. To another reader it might mean that they believe my character of Aunt Gussie is a representation of our older social customs which have become lost in this postmodern techno fanatic culture where pleasantries are replaced with rudeness in everything from the music to politics. Not that I meant that at all... but one can never be sure what the reader will come away with. All I'm saying is that Mr. Camus in putting a lot on the writer to insinuate that he/she can defend the world itself  in the novelty of a humorous short story, or a romance novel. Then again... maybe he is right and maybe that is exactly what we are doing. Adding the spice to the mix so everything blends together better. A humorous story to act as an aspirin against the headaches of the real world might keep it running one more day. My short story "Aunt Gussie's got a Gun" is in my book  "Spies Lie & Spies Die." I think you would enjoy it.