The Essay: Controversies: American Writing of the 1960s

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The Essay: Controversies: American Writing of the 1960s: William Styron

William Styron

Controversies: American Writing of the 1960s

BBC Radio 3 - The Essay, Controversies: American Writing of the 1960s, William Styron

Should a white man write about a black revolutionary?

A look at authors on the receiving end of cancel culture in 1960s America. In this essay, should a white man, William Styron, write about a black revolutionary, Nat Turner?

The 1960s are celebrated for the paradigm shift in American society.  This shift was reflected in art and culture as well as politics. But these great changes were not accomplished without controversy. Even in the most slow-flowing art form, literature, great controversies burst out that are now forgotten, but they anticipate what is going on with today's cancel culture.  They occurred without the multiplier effect of social media but dominated not just book pages but the society at large. 

Michael Goldfarb looks at five authors and their books on the receiving end of this cancel culture in liberal America of the 1960s. Each author and the work being discussed was the subject of a controversy that altered their lives and deeply affected their careers.

In this essay, he focuses on William Styron and his book 'The Confessions of Nat Turner' and asks can a white man write about a black revolutionary hero? Is this taking cultural appropriation too far? Styron was a southerner writing about an important event in his local history. The story was part of his culture, as well. But as a white man does he have the right to imagine the thoughts of an enslaved black man?

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Michael Goldfarb looks at five US authors whose books were the subject of controversy.

In this series of essays, Michael Goldfarb looks at five authors who wrote books which were the subject of a controversy that altered their lives and deeply affected their careers.

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