The cult of the middlebrow

The critic Jonathan Jones caused something of a stir recently whenhe lamented, in the Guardian, how the belief in literature as a force for change was being debased in favour of the currency of popular appeal. 'In the age of social media and ebooks, our concept of literary greatness is being blurred beyond recognition. A middlebrow cult of the popular is holding literature to ransom.' This was in response to the emotional outpouring occasioned by the death of Terry Pratchett, which Jones compared to the much more muted response (at least on the internet) to the death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have had the same thought myself quite a lot lately" not in relation to the death of authors, but to the rewards bestowed upon them while they are still alive. It's in the giving of literary prizes that the cult of the middlebrow seems now to have established itself, which is quite a triumph, if you think of such prizes, as I still do, more and more desperately, as the last bastion, in this world, for the literary recognition that is withheld by the marketplace. I speak as a publisher, and so have to tread carefully" if I mention names I will be accused of bearing a grudge. I do bear a grudge actually" it's about the thousands of dollars in entry fees I have to pay each year to support the administration of prizes that more and more frequently, in my view, go to authors who are neither challenging or innovative. What they do have, often in abundance, is 'appeal'.