Literary Activism: New Perspectives

Literary Activism: New Perspectives

Literary activism is defined by many as a form of protest directed towards or against communications, or more precisely the fiction and nonfiction messaging, by institutions of power whose communications goals are focused on influencing specific audiences (Corporate Communication, 2015; Literary activism, 2015). As abolitionists focused their fight for the rights of the slave, Literary Activists focus their struggle on the rights of writers as can be seen in a blog written by Amy King (2015). They see the publishing industry as one in need of change.

Another perspective of what literary activism is includes the idea that it could be the use of literature as a vehicle for any activist movement (Amy King, 2015).

Wherever there is a protagonist, there is also an antagonist. The antagonist of literary activism includes those actions by institutions to paint the activist in a negative light using the very same tools the literary activist leverages: literature. For example, it has always been a well-known fact that many of the U.S. government agencies participated, and likely still participate, in hostile acts against activists. According to Howard Zinn, the CIA used "several hundred American academics (administrators, faculty members, graduate students engaged in teaching) who, in addition to providing leads and, on occasion, making introductions for intelligence purposes, write books and other material to be used for propaganda purposes abroad" (Howard Zinn, 1980).

Activism is action taken to bring about social change to improve society overall and to correct social injustice (Activism, 2016). There are many areas requiring social change, and therefore, there are many types of activists. Just as there are many types of activists, there are also many tools used by activists to promote social change. For literary activists, the tool of choice is typically literature and the various literary techniques one can bring to bear on activism. But that's all literature is here - a tool by which the activist takes action to promote change and as such, literary activism can be focused on both the publishing industry and activism in general. Once more, the publishing industry, in the context of this article, can be viewed from the larger perspective of simply the publishing of the antagonist view rather than any particular "publisher."

References
Activism. (2016, April 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:39, April 30, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Activism&oldid=717533369

Amy King (2015). What Is Literary Activism? Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2015/08/what-is-literary-activism/

Corporate communication. (2015, December 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:04, April 30, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corporate_communication&oldid=696990959

Howard Zinn (1980). A People's History of the United States: 1492 – Present. Harper Collins, 2003 Retrieved from http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnseven20.html

Literary activism. (2015, November 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:03, April 30, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Literary_activism&oldid=689949649