Meh to the Smug
The problem that I have with many non-fiction writers and/or writers who write about writing is that as they start "talking" I realize that they are just not someone I want to be in dialogue with. Like, AT ALL. And if you don't want to dialogue with a writer, why on earth would you keep reading their words?
I'm also starting to see an unhappy truth to the smugness of both white writers (not as a whole, but a lot of the mainstream successful ones that write "how to be me" sorts of books) and highly educated writers. If the first thing you do in your book for "everybody" about writing is quote Roland Barthes - especially as if everyone knows who that is and the context of said quote? Your book isn't for everybody. Your book is telling some readers that they haven't climbed the spire to "A Right to Write" castle.
A few days ago I found myself in a conversation in which I was "informed" that everything wrong in America today is the fault of the higher education system. Because of the situation of the conversation (and because, I must admit, I was super curious to see where THAT proclamation led) I kept my mouth shut and let the person talk. Now, on the one hand, the person was hyper-simplifying the actual situation, spewing politically-based rhetoric without consideration, and being more than a bit of an ass. On the other hand, this conversation got me thinking about how many times I was told that education is a doorway - you basically have to know the right code to get through the door, and once you're through you become part of increasingly more rarefied elites.
And, in the interest of full disclosure, because of that understanding I opted out. I've had two opportunities to pursue a doctorate, something many people in my life have said I "really need," because I am not a fan of something as "of the people, about the people, by the people" as the humanities and English also being something that shuts doors in faces - including your own if you achieve the high aspiration of said doctorate and then realize you don't want to work in (or, as is more common, can't find a job in) academia.
So, while I"m a true believer in the idea that education, and access to education, matters and can make a big difference in people's lives, I also get the core of where this person was coming from and I'm seeing more and more examples of how this plays out in the inclusive language and culture of those who succeed because of it.
I mean, it never feels good to realize you're on the outside of a thing, looking in. And this is coming from someone who does know who Roland Barthes is and the context of the quote.
The more I think about the issues that trouble me, the more I find myself wanting to bridge conversations - real conversations - and find ways to connect people instead of building on this ever-deepening "othering" that we all seem so into right now. Tribalism is only inclusive to those who fit into the tribe, after all.
(c) Regan Wann 2018
