Pulitzer winner Anne Tyler on writing from black viewpoint: ‘I should be allowed to do it’
nypost.comwith the Sunday Times, stating, “I’m astonished by the appropriation issue. It would be very foolish for me to write, let’s say, a novel from the viewpoint of a black man, but I think I should be allowed to do it.”Tyler — who won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel “Breathing Lessons” — also hit out at cancel culture. “If an incredibly talented person has written novels in the 1930s or ’40s and all of a sudden it is discovered that there was something he said or did — even something as bad as sexual harassment — he should be condemned for it but I don’t see why you should withdraw his novels from publication,” she told the British publication.Tyler’s comments sparked debate on Twitter, with some claiming Tyler simply wanted to avoid any kind of criticism. “No one’s saying you can’t, just that you shouldn’t [write about black characters].
Sounds like you don’t want the consequences of such an action. And that’s privilege,” one user wrote.However, others encouraged Tyler to freely write about whatever took her fancy. “Writers are supposed to be truth-tellers and be free to tell whatever story they wish.
The Social Justice Warriors don’t dictate what a writer can or cannot do,” one advocate stated.The best-selling author is notoriously reclusive and rarely gives interviews.
Tyler — who has been described by the British press as “America’s answer to Jane Austen” — is set to release her 24th novel, “French Braid,” on Tuesday.
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