Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
I'm minded of Justice Potter Stewart's famous comment on pornography, "I know it when I see it." I think that's probably best. Reasonable people can disagree, of course, but I think thoughtfulness combined with a gut reaction might be the best litmus test.
Frankly, I think winning a prize is a dreadful test. There are so many undeserving prizewinners, IMO, and so many factors including hot topics, political correctness, connections, etc, etc, that winning a prize means very little in terms of literary quality.
|
Yes, I'm with you there, issybird. There have been some odd winners of the Man Booker prize over the years, and some very deserving ones too. No doubt that is equally true of the Pulitzer too, though we don't hear so much about that down here, probably because Australians aren't normally eligible. (Nothing parochial about us!) Geraldine Brooks' father was an American, so that made her eligible, as I understand it, but we still claim her as an Aussie of course.