Conference on World Affairs: Where have you gone, Hemingway?

CWA panel blames technology, publishing houses for demise of literature

A eulogy was held for literature this morning in UMC 247.

Well, not exactly.

A panel of esteemed writers, scholars and book critics addressed an audience of about 75 on the apparent death of literature because of technological advancement as well as conglomeration among publishing companies. The panel discussion was part of the 59th annual Conference on World Affairs on the CU campus.

While the topic of the discussion addressed the death of literature, there was agreement by the panelists that literature has not died, and that to bury it would be premature and sacrilegious.

“Literature will never die as long as there is a Bible,” said Stuart Schoffman, a member on the Board of Overseers of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. “With literature, the intersection of the reader and what is being read creates an energy which ultimately fights death.”

One of the four panelists, Schoffman is a former screenwriter, journalist, researcher and teacher. He has lived in Jerusalem since 1988 and lectures widely on politics, religion and culture.

“In order to address this issue, we have to ask ourselves what literature is,” Schoffman said.

Novelist Cindy Bonner, who also sat on the panel, attributed the apparent demise of literature to the conglomeration of the major publishing houses, adding that their inability to nurture new writers has somewhat defeated the publishing industry.

“Publishers would rather go with writers that have been proven to sell rather than take a risk on somebody new,” Bonner said.

Bonner is the author of four novels, the most recent of which won the PEN-Texas Award in 1997. Her novels have been named best books by the American Library Association.

Panelist and professional journalist James R. Schiffman went on to illustrate a historical paradigm in the publishing industry, and how each new technological innovation appears to murder literature, which always responds by resurrecting itself.

“There’s a craving in the soul for the written word,” Schiffman said. “There will always be a place for the written word.”

David Margolick, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, associated the death of literature with a new demand for narrative journalism and the shortening of the popular novel. He stated that people’s failure to maintain attention for a variety of reasons has assisted the downfall of literature.

“The non-fiction narrative has become a substitute for literature,” Margolick said. “There seems to be a fundamental craving for this kind of stuff.”

While the panelists agreed that literature has been wounded by technology, conglomeration and a lack of proper education, they all agreed that literature is not yet in need of resuscitation.

“People are still buying books,” Schoffman said, recommending a variety of titles to the audience. “Literature is not dead in that regard.”

Contact Campus Press staff writer Tim McAvoy at [email protected]