“I want to make it clear here that I think
intelligent arts criticism is important and valuable. I want critics, writers,
and readers to stake out their aesthetic ground and defend it. But your
arguments should make us think deeper and harder about books. Criticism should
complicate, not simplify. If you think the above is true, but not worth
fretting over, here is why I disagree: lazy stereotypes about reader
preferences absolutely contribute to problems in the publishing industry. I
know writers of color who’ve been rejected because their writing ‘isn’t black
enough for black readers,’ or is ‘too black for white readers.’ It leads
publishers to reject manuscripts because ‘readers won’t read translated
fiction’ or ‘don’t want more [insert ethnicity] immigrant fiction this year.’
(Then, of course, those same publishers scramble after that same fiction as
soon as one book sells well.) It’s part of the reason that women writers are
pressured into flowery uplifting covers even if their fiction is dark and
gritty. And, more generally, it’s part of why tons of great books that push boundaries
and do new, exciting things get passed over, and literature, and readers,
suffer for it.” Lincoln Michel
