Success is...

Meocha Belle 6/15

Today was the first time I got to have an intimate discussion with an author on their work of fiction. Meeting with Jake Lamar on his book, The Ghosts of Saint Michel, allowed me to get answers of my queries on editing selections and even inside his mind behind various characters and their development. He did mention something that has been troubling me for the past couple of years on attitudes towards writers in America and then compared them to those present in Paris.
When discussing the reception writers get in America, Lamar expressed that people define success of your work by awards and recognition. The writing is not even considered for reading and furthermore analysis, if it has not been stamped as a "best-seller" by most. This implying that your work is not credible or important. Unfortunately, many Americans do not realize the level and amount of politics loaded into the literary field that may be hindering deserving authors from receiving high acclaim.
In conversation with American values, in France, the number of awards your writing receives does not determine your skill. Writing and reading is heavily celebrated here. From my short amount of time spent, this statement is accurate. People read here unlike anywhere I have been. Every time I get on the metro, I see a number of riders reading novels. This is not seen a great deal in American cities. I have yet to come across an open cafe with people in it where someone was not reading a book. As told by Jake Lamar and seen through the reception of writers in From Harlem to Paris and Paris Noir, the French celebrate the craft. This wide acceptance has made it easier for authors to write and create their best pieces in the culture.

~Paris Noir 2010