Why We Like Satire Even When Things Don’t Change
In 1729, A Modest Proposal shocked a staid and stiff England. Readers were immediately repulsed by the anonymous author’s suggestion that people eat children in order to stop children from starving. They rose up and demanded that action be taken to stop the immense poverty sweeping Ireland. Aristocrats and scholars, the primary targets of A Modest Proposal, quickly threw money and workable solutions at the problem. That satire, one of Jonathon Swift’s many masterpieces, produced sweeping changes.
We’ve had a three-hundred-year drought since then.
So why do we keep reading satire?
What to Read Wednesday: God Made Us Monsters
Looking for good books for yourself or others? Join me every Wednesday for solid recommendations. God Made Us Monsters by Bill Neary is a seamless blend of historical and religious … Continue reading
Can You Learn More From Fiction Than Nonfiction?
Learning a little something from everything you read. I’ve said it a hundred times if I’ve said it once: “Write what you know, read what you don’t.” Writing what you … Continue reading
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