So …
You guys know I’m not a Franzen fanatic, but I feel compelled to share my thoughts on his recent interview at Scratch.
The consensus seems to be that it was a great back-and-forth, and I agree. Straightforward questions, frank answers. What an interview should be.
Here are my thoughts on the the highlights, starting with the stuff with which I agree and saving my only disagreement with Franzen for last.
It seems nothing good can ever happen to anyone these days without someone quickly making a demographic calculation and launching allegations of bias. And, even when these allegations themselves clearly have merit, the evidence, arguments, and ideology behind them often do not.
Such is the case of Jodi Picoult‘s poorly substantiated — but likely correct! — assertion that the New York Times treats white male writers with more respect than others.
The thing about accusations of irrational, unfair bias like this: they might be 100 percent accurate, yet the arguments propping them up can still be equally irrational, unfair, and biased.
