Thanks. Appreciate the additional context. I love to read, fiction almost exclusively, and I strongly believe that the written word damn well is for everybody.

Thanks. Appreciate the additional context. I love to read, fiction almost exclusively, and I strongly believe that the written word damn well is for everybody. Tastes will differ but why set out from the beginning by trying to exclude people? It just strikes me as snobbery and I don’t like it. I have tried to say more on the subject but it just upsets me that this author is saying the average person is not good enough to enjoy their work. I have more than enough material to consume already and while I was excited to find another author whose work to read, I simply won’t bother after reading the article you have linked. For several years through some of the media and people and thoughts I have been exposed to, I had come to the belief that one should compartmentalize their feelings and respond to them individually as appropriate. X stimulus deserves X’ reaction, Y stimulus deserves Y’ reaction, don’t cross the streams etc. Recently I saw an interview with Ada Limón, the current poet laureate in the US, and she spoke about how that is simply not the way of human life and it fucking clicked for me (I believe this was nearly a throwaway statement for her, but it affected me deeply) we are feeling beings and the things interact; I am not going to waste my time on a snob at this point in my life. Might have been different if I’d read her work and found it beautiful but you got there first and I am grateful. https://www.pbs.org/video/poet-laureate-sot-1658960090/ https://www.pbs.org/video/poet-laureate-sot-1658960090/