Something I found myself wondering while reading was where imagination or world-building fits into this. It surely contributes to whether a writer’s work feels “original and unique,” but it also shapes “the impact of their writing.” Do you see imagination as straddling several of these categories rather than belonging to just one?
Also interesting to think about how literary legacies aren’t necessarily fixed. They’re subject to fashion and time. Kipling, for example, has long been read through a lens of empire, but the way readers judge that inheritance has shifted.
I think you can argue imagination is a key ingredient that goes towards making the end product (i.e. the book, poem, story etc.) rather than a subject of legacy in its own right; after all, the end product is the only tangible thing there is to pass into the future. Tolkien has the legacy, not Mordor.
You're absolutely right about the impact of fashion on legacy. Because of some elements in today's culture (not to mention book banning in some countries) there are great writers who are now vilified - completely incorrectly in my view. Context - in terms of when they were writing - is everything; you can't ban/change history.
Something I found myself wondering while reading was where imagination or world-building fits into this. It surely contributes to whether a writer’s work feels “original and unique,” but it also shapes “the impact of their writing.” Do you see imagination as straddling several of these categories rather than belonging to just one?
Also interesting to think about how literary legacies aren’t necessarily fixed. They’re subject to fashion and time. Kipling, for example, has long been read through a lens of empire, but the way readers judge that inheritance has shifted.
I think you can argue imagination is a key ingredient that goes towards making the end product (i.e. the book, poem, story etc.) rather than a subject of legacy in its own right; after all, the end product is the only tangible thing there is to pass into the future. Tolkien has the legacy, not Mordor.
You're absolutely right about the impact of fashion on legacy. Because of some elements in today's culture (not to mention book banning in some countries) there are great writers who are now vilified - completely incorrectly in my view. Context - in terms of when they were writing - is everything; you can't ban/change history.
Thanks for responding, Michael!
Thanks, Ian 👍😊