Speaking Out: Violence and Literature since 1688
Everywhere humanity appears to be at war with itself. Yet we spend so much of our time with our mildly pained faces averted. Often we just don't know what to do. That's why creative writing really matters. It takes facts and documents them vividly. But writers also reconstruct life. By speaking out, writers re-invent the world in words. In doing this, they create new zones of possibility for liberation. Historically, the anti-slavery movement was very effective in using the printing press both to document and to imagine the life of a slave. For the critical reader these are often both historical works and timeless aesthetic creations. In most cases there will be limited perspectives and distortions of point of view. Voices stutter and stammer, and cover up, and style eloquently glosses, justifies and glorifies. Language offers enlightenment but also clouds judgments. There is much to be learned from reading a range of pro and anti-slavery texts. There are contradictio...