While the crisis-stricken literary industry in the West seeks salvation in watered-down autofiction, mass-produced genre fiction, and celebrity gossip repackaged as cultural debate, writers in dictatorships struggle to find ways to portray their political reality in quality novels without displeasing the regime. (Excerpted from a Swedish-language book review Läs Yan Liankes roman – och frukta den … Continue reading Yan Lianke’s “The Day the Sun Died”
In Censorship and Salesmanship at America’s Biggest Book Fair , Christopher beam argues that categorizing China's community of writers into "dissidents and collaborators misses the nuances of Chinese publishing and politics": “People use the term ‘dissident writer’ in a very confused way,” said Eric Abrahamsen, an American translator and publishing consultant who lives in Beijing, and … Continue reading “Dissident Writers” with Chinese Characteristics
It has taken a bit of time, but Chinese authors have begun to publicize their reaction to Xi Jinping’s speech at the Beijing Oct 15 Forum on Literature and Art Work. While slavish praise has been appropriately abundant, a handful of Art Workers do not appear to be singing in unison. We’ll skip the former … Continue reading Writers React to Comrade Xi Jinping’s Foray into Literary Criticism
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