J.G. Ballard on writing, sci-fi, and the modern world
"In many ways, I believe that science fiction is the authentic literature of the 20th century."
Came across this Swedish program/interview of JG Ballard from 1986. In it he talks about his life and the modern world but he also talk about literature and science fiction, not surprisingly. His view that sci-fi is the “authentic literature” of the modern. And this seems right to me. I, too, think that it’s the only “genre” that can capture the entire range of experience of living in our age of rapid technological change. The masses have always loved sci-fi. Turns out all the regular people — the non-literary types — who consumed dime sci-fi novels and trashy sci-fi magazines understood literature and the world around them better than the upper class East Coast types who have been running the literary world here in America. The lit establishment had for a long time looked down at sci-fi writers, thinking them to be pulp and trash…forcing even Philip K. Dick to feel inadequate.
Here are the bits from the interview where he talks about writing and novels. Just wanted to share it with you:
