Thursday, March 20, 2008


MEASURING LITERARY FAME

Which writers have captivated the consciousness of all their readers for the longest measure of time?

If one could calculate that, it would be a good criterion for Fame; even better if one could measure the quality of that captivation—how intense, how pleasurable, how affecting, how transformative, how enlightening.

Then add this factor: over the longest period of time. That would help Homer in his contest with Harry Potter for the status of a literary “classic.”

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