Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
I disagree. There’s still the issue of the other stakeholders who benefited and continue to benefit from the sale of works under copyright. A publisher who looked the other way and continued to publish, spouses and children who tolerated the offensive attitudes and behaviors - I wouldn’t choose to support them, either.
Obviously, the nature of the offense, the context of the time and time elapsed all figure in this. Another factor is the importance of the work. But popular fiction is an easy call; there’s always something else of a similar caliber to read. However, this is highly situational, both for the reader and for the individual artist. I’m just saying that death doesn’t whitewash an author or his works, not while money is still involved.
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Completely agree. It is one thing to read a problematic author, it is quite another to give them or their estate money. It is also quite another to admire, praise or promote that problematic work without admitting its flaws.
I've got a literature degree in addition to my law degree, and I'd never tell people to stop reading the canon. I would tell them to examine it for what it is, and also to read outside of the canon to hear the voices that they don't normally hear.
Child abusers, though, they can just go.