Bob Dylan, Dante, and Genres of Literature · 11:44pm Dec 11th, 2016
This year Bob Dylan has received the Nobel Prize in Literature. As this is the first time the prize has been awarded to a singer-songwriter, it has caused no end of heated discussion in educated circles about whether this was the right decision. Traditionally the prize has gone to novelists, philosophers and poets. But the times they are a changin’, and the prize committee appears to be now more open to alternative ideas about what constitutes ‘literature’, and willing to take a look at more popular culture.
Which makes you wonder—how long will it be until the premier writing award goes to a writer of pony fanfiction?
Could this happen? It is certainly possible. There is nothing in Alfred Nobel’s will to exclude it. It is perfectly plausible that a future prize winner may emerge from our community. But if any one of our number rose to such an exalted level of genius, would they still be writing pony stories? Or would they have long since moved on to penning the sort of serious high-brow books that are more conventionally viewed as worthy literature?
It might take some time. The fact that nobody outside our community pays any attention to fanfiction could be a hindrance. We evidently need to infiltrate the elite literary world and get some pony fans on the Nobel committee.
Of course fanfiction, in its modern form, is still a very young genre which only really took off with the internet. Maybe it will take a few hundred years to catch up and compete with more established genres like novels and poetry. Although in many ways fan fiction is truer to the original spirit of storytelling. A quick study of folklore makes it clear that historically writing your own stories with familiar characters from popular culture was the way to be a successful writer. It is only comparatively recently that copyright rules have stifled this approach. Going back to the fourteenth century, Dante’s Divine Comedy is basically a piece of fanfiction. A self-insert crossover between biblical scripture and classical mythology, with plenty of references to the culture of his day. Like all fanfiction, it is difficult to understand unless you are familiar with this. This was a work of popular rather than serious fiction, being written in Italian instead of Latin. And it is now (to quote Wikipedia) seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.
How will the literary world view our pony stories in 700 years’ time?
Spike is deeply unsettled by this turn of events.
Which makes you wonder—how long will it be until the premier writing award goes to a writer of pony fanfiction?
With the current state of the Science-Fiction community? In a few months, at most.
What is Literature? What distinguishes it from "mere" fanfiction? I haven't been able to solve that puzzle. Is it really just a reader-response, million monkeys with typewriters sort of deal? Or are breakthroughs context-driven?
It seems that literature professors can nominate anyone if their opinion is solicited, which means that once Bad Horse gets his PhD he can start pushing pony fic on the literary world. He won't be able to nominate himself, but once one of us wins the prize (inevitable, once they get a taste of our horse puns), that individual will be able to nominate Bad Horse in turn.
There are two other interesting types who can nominate:
and
I'm sure fimfiction.net qualifies as one such institution or society, so whoever is in charge around here will presumably be contacted come September by the Nobel Committee....
4336586 Well, if Rush Limbaugh can be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, certainly we can get the Lit. nomination for Hoopys Keepers of Discord.
4336466 What's the premier writing award?
4336806 A several million dollar advance.
4336995 I meant, what organization does it/what sort of thing is it usually for?
4336515
"Literature" is defined by the circular logic that it is whatever those qualified to define it say it is.
4336586
So we should all send Knighty our suggestions... I'm sure he'll be delighted...