I have been asked by several writers, What constitutes literature? What’s the difference between a mediocre, or even a well written, novel and a piece of literature?
There are many interpretations, so my answer will be incomplete and possibly lack a certain measure of accuracy, depending on who reads it. That said, here’s my take on it:
In the broadest of terms, literature can be defined as any type of creative or imaginative writing. This would include the following:
1 – Prose of various lengths (from a short story or essay all the way up to epic serials)
2 – Poetry of any style
3 – Plays or scripts
Does this mean that all creative writing is, in fact, literature? In the purest sense of the word, yes. The question of what separates quality literature from mundane literature rests, as do all things that live and breathe on the continuum of beauty, in the eyes of the beholder. Writing will be assessed to be exquisite art or a collection of trite words based not only on the innate skills and talents of the writer, but equally on the biases and values of the reader. Such collaboration is the very essence of all writing, and all creative endeavors.
What is literature? It boils down to taste and to a great extent consensus. Many of my favorite movies, books, songs are very poorly represented in the mainstream. Mass preferences come and go in and out of style, and few survive the test of time.
Some authors are, in fact, very popular for awhile, then wilt into nothing – flashes in a pan, so to speak. It doesn’t mean their work is any less valuable – only that the tides of popular opinion have waned.
The definition of literature is, at its core, subjective. Within each of our hearts beat our own personal library of works that have touched us, that continue to touch us, words that weave themselves throughout our very beings, without which we would be only fragments or shadows of who we are. Literature is the collection of all words that course through our veins and give our spirits flight.
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