Comments on: Conference on Christianity and Literature: The City (Part 1) http://www.christandpopculture.com/featured/conference-on-christianity-and-literature-the-city-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=conference-on-christianity-and-literature-the-city-part-1 Where The Christian Faith Meets The Common Knowledge of Our Age Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:18:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: The Dane http://www.christandpopculture.com/featured/conference-on-christianity-and-literature-the-city-part-1/#comment-52461 The Dane Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:02:56 +0000 http://www.christandpopculture.com/?p=4778#comment-52461 Your final question leaves me wondering: Does literature (urban or otherwise) have a responsibility, any responsibility? As for myself, I'm not sure it does. Certainly not to truth, as that seems more the reader's responsibility—to mine out what is accurate reflection of reality and what is not. And though I'm loathe to admit, I don't even think literature has a responsibility to be good. Certainly life would be grander if there were no <i>Eragons</i>, no <i>Lovely Bones</i>, no <i>Da Vinci Codes</i>. But I'm not sure that there is a responsibility to prevent such drivel either. _______________________________ An aside, if I recall, <i>The Devil in the White City</i> does a fair job of treating both joyous and joyless aspects of Chicago as it struggled under its own growth and promise just prior the turn of the 20th century. Of course, that was kind of the point of the book. Your final question leaves me wondering: Does literature (urban or otherwise) have a responsibility, any responsibility?

As for myself, I’m not sure it does. Certainly not to truth, as that seems more the reader’s responsibility—to mine out what is accurate reflection of reality and what is not. And though I’m loathe to admit, I don’t even think literature has a responsibility to be good. Certainly life would be grander if there were no Eragons, no Lovely Bones, no Da Vinci Codes. But I’m not sure that there is a responsibility to prevent such drivel either.

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An aside, if I recall, The Devil in the White City does a fair job of treating both joyous and joyless aspects of Chicago as it struggled under its own growth and promise just prior the turn of the 20th century. Of course, that was kind of the point of the book.

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