“For those whose ganglia were formed pre-TV, the mimetic deployment of pop-culture icons seems at best an annoying tic and at worst a dangerous vapidity that compromises fiction's seriousness by dating it out of the Platonic Always, where it ought to reside.” SeemsCultureFictionWorstDangerousTvsOughtDatingPopsCompromiseAnnoyingSeriousnessPop CultureIconsDeploymentPlatonicTics Author:Jonathan Lethem
“Dragons are more dangerous, and a good deal commoner, than bears. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a real wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe.” FeelsShouldRealDealsFictionFantasyDangerousBearsSafeInsanityDragonsWildernessMysticismCommoners Book:The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction Source: The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction
“The truth is, poverty's the environment for alcoholism, and the reservations aren't rich. Maybe cleaning people up in fiction is just as dangerous as presenting them unfiltered.” PeopleFictionPovertyRichEnvironmentDangerousTruth IsCleaningAlcoholismPresentingReservations Author:Stephen Graham Jones
“Fiction is more dangerous than nonfiction because it can seduce better. I think we all know this, know that deeper truths can be approached in fiction than in fact. There are risks for the reader, because after reading certain books you find you have changed irreversibly. There are risks for writers: in China, now, and Ethiopia and other countries right now, writers face real persecution.” ThinkingKnowsBookRealCountryFactsFacesCertainReadingFictionRiskDangerousChangedReaderRight NowChinaDeeperNonfictionOther CountriesPersecutionSeducingEthiopiaYou Have Changed Author:Chris Abani
“I'm definitely excited by big ideas, both in what I write and what I read. Most days, reality is so mind-numbingly dull that I don't understand why someone would write strictly realistic stories, given the almost limitless freedom fiction provides. I don't see the point of making believe if you're not going to actually make believe: hang your ass out in the wind, push at every boundary, make almost unreasonable demands on your reader's willingness to suspend disbelief. This is dangerous, and prone to failure, but that's part of what makes it fun.” IfsWritingMindBelieveIdeasStoriesBigsRealityGivenFunFictionDangerousWindReaderDemandExcitedBoundariesAssDullWillingnessRealisticLimitlessDisbeliefUnreasonableMake BelieveBig Ideas Author:Ron Currie Jr.