All news
Book battle of generations
The meeting began with young writers talking about their books. Ivan Bevz, who debuted with the song "What Were We Doing While You Were Teaching Us to Live," said: "Usually, three to five topics come to mind every day, and I write them down. I have a huge file with a graveyard of topics, from which I sometimes revive them and start writing about them. If that doesn't work, I'll move on to another topic."
Darya Mesropova, author of Mom, I Ate an Elephant, offered a different idea, exploring the psychological and personal aspects of her subject. A genius is an idea until it is completely overthrown, as it seems to him. Athletes who make their living only by running or playing were ideal for this role. And the topic of eating disorders had already been raised. This is because athletes in any sport start very early and immediately experience a lot of pressure from their loved ones and the world around them, putting more pressure on themselves than on others. And this necessarily poses a threat to the body. So RPP seemed to be a perfect fit here. Moreover, this book is my personal sad experience and a hard-earned book."
These confessions lifted the curtain on the creative process of young writers. Some choose their topics intuitively, others based them on deep personal experience. But despite their differences, their words had something in common. Each has a unique story to tell, but their methods and motivations are different.
Maria Lebedeva, the author of the novel It’s Dark There, openly admits that her book was initially written “on a dare,” but along the way she delved deeply into the study of the relationships between stepbrothers and sisters. I wasn’t particularly concerned about how many people would buy my book. I was just talking about what interested me. I was interested in the relationships between stepbrothers. Why is it also about depression? “I decided to write this particular book because I missed books about depression from the inside.” This seemingly random choice of topic led to profound and unexpected questions posed by the author through the prism of her own experience.
But the debate soon became more intense as participants argued over the role of age and experience in literature. Literary editor and columnist Anastasia Shevchenko was the first to raise the issue of how generational differences affect writing style. “People my age, over 40, write in a way that edifies their youth, but at the same time places the characters in a modern environment. As an editor, I can see through this lie.”
This article immediately provoked the following reaction from Maria Lebedeva: "I know many 30-year-old writers who write as if they were 100 years old to please the judges. Write something you like, and they will pat you on the head. But if you write nonsense, they will say: Question: Do you want to please many people or three people? This is an important question for every writer."
When the topic of literary quality and audience value arose, the debate turned emotional. Lebedeva unexpectedly stood up for the older generation, emphasizing that the opinions of laureates and critics are not always objective. “Sometimes this means that the text is really interesting to many readers, and sometimes it’s just good PR. And no award will change this fact.”
The discussion peaked on the issue of genre literature. And here it is claimed that the distinction between genre and non-genre literature is more artificial than real. Shevchenko cited "Crime and Punishment" as an example, calling it a detective novel. This book by Dostoevsky has always been considered great literature. And Lebedeva noted that the problem of genre literature is an artificially inflated problem.
“Only once in my life have I been sued over a conflict between genre and non-genre literature. And it seemed to bother the speaker more than if such a problem actually existed. I write literature, not genre. You can think of it as my apple turtleneck, because the lack of genre does not mean it is better. I feel like this is an issue artificially inflated within the community. In fact, these conflicts do not really exist. That’s because there are many books in this genre on the long list of awards. And frankly, the people who were screaming that only boring books will get awards, not genre books, and my beautiful books will not get awards, have never, to my knowledge, written a beautiful book. Good books do not always get awards. But frankly, I have seen two people screaming about genre and non-genre, and they both had terrible books.”
Anastasia Pankva, brand manager of the publishing house "Editorial Office of Elena Shubina", expressed the opinion that the originality of a book is determined not by the boundaries of its genre, but by personal experience and the extent to which the author brings something new to a familiar topic. "Originality is a combination of personal experience and recommendations that you rely on. This is what gives literature new words, and not the originality of the form of the text."
Continuing the theme, Anastasia Shevchenko said: “We have long been living in a world that crosses genres. Any text can be analyzed and is suitable for any genre. All of these are artificial structures. Critics and literary scholars like to talk about this, but we, critics, deal with creatures, and it is important for us to evoke sympathy in readers.” Although the participants continued to think about the questions they had posed, this phrase put an end to the dispute.
The questions raised at the meeting remain relevant. Who do contemporary young writers write for: for readers, for themselves, or for the award judges? And what is more important: the genre or the integrity of the author’s personality? These topics will continue to cause controversy. But one thing is clear. Contemporary literature is constantly in motion, and each book becomes part of this process.
Ekaterina Petrova is a literary columnist for the online newspaper Realnoe Vremya, the author of the Telegram channel Pulochki s makom (Pills with poppy seeds) and the founder of the first online book club by subscription, Makulatura (Maculature).