By Brian Kalkbrenner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 5, 1998

Columnist sells authors short

To the Editor:

In response to Ezekiel Buchheit's column, "The death of great American literature" (Feb. 4), I believe the author is greatly mistaken. The fact that novelists such as [Stephen] King and [Tom] Clancy are popular doesn't mean that literature is dead, just as the popularity of Marilyn Manson and Reel Big Fish doesn't mean music is dead. American literature is indeed flourishing, within the literary community. One can easily find great contemporary literature if one only looks. There are numerous literary magazines, a myriad of elegant writers and countless numbers of books and short stories which qualify as literature. One cannot rely on bestsellers lists as a source, as is often the case. While your criticism of chain stores is mostly accurate, some chain stores do have a good selection of literature, e.g., Borders or Bookstar.

By implying, if not directly stating, that contemporary works of literary art do not exist, you are insulting writers and readers alike, and you do a disservice to the readers of your column. While your intentions were good, and your point well taken, be careful not to lump the thinking public in with the general public.

Brian Kalkbrenner
Creative Writing/American Literature Sophomore