American Branding

A while back I had a conversation with one of those self-designated “postmodern” writers whose thinking demonstrates the elitist literary mindset.

He told me about international writers I’d never heard of, much less cared about. The way he talked, the concept of a distinctive American literature was a thing of the past. When I mentioned this to him, he looked at me as if I were from another planet.

Yet, around the globe, the American brand remains strong. Everyone wants to be American. It’s insanity to carelessly throw this asset away, as the official literary world has done by turning U.S. literature into a sterile thing that doesn’t represent the sound of this great country, but is instead a vague, intellectualized mish-mash.

What happened to the unique flavor of American writing? The not-so-long ago voices of Ellison, Mailer, and Kerouac?

When people buy an item of French culture, they want it to be distinctively French. To be relevant, American writing needs to be uniquely American. That’s my goal as a writer. Fiction with roots in a people and land is stronger fiction.

Consume America. Buy American Pop Lit ebooks.