The Question: "Does Writing Change Anything?"

In Issue 7 of the PEN American Journal, several authors write about the question: "Does Writing Change Anything." Considering how obsessive I can be about reading and writing and thinking about reading and writing, it's somewhat surprising that I never thought about this at all.

Antonio Muñoz Molina opens his essay with a description of seeing a woman on a train smiling as she reads Proust, and how he feels that she is a "silent accomplice, someone with whom I share a secret, a hidden treasure." I found myself smiling as I read his words, recognizing that feeling of being a part of a small, yet strong community within the big city. He describes seeing someone reading on a train as commonplace, but also a miracle.

Molina then takes quite a turn from the romantic aspect of reading to a more historical reality. "Very often, writers complain bitterly about the futility of their solitary endeavor, but our contemporary world, for better or for worse, was created by the writing of at least two self-absorbed graphomaniacs: Jean-Jacque Rousseau and Karl Marx."

This statement made me wonder if writing actually changes anything anymore. With the advent of radio, then tv, then the internet and youtube, it seems that writing is on the backburner of an old stove. Consider all work (literature included) that has made changes in recent years. The only one that really stands out is Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth. I can think of no book in this decade that has had that far-reaching of an impact. It literally opened up an international conversation and motivated people to make daily changes in their lives, both large and small.

While I'm certain that writing does make changes in small ways, I can't imagine any of it doing what Rousseau's or Marx's work did. It seems that writing is frequently an ignored avenue when it comes to making big changes these days. Sure, Al Gore wrote a book on the same subject, but his documentary is really the medium that was successful in drawing attention to an important subject.

I don't want to be a pessimist, especially because I feel frequently moved by reading and writing. However, I wonder if there will be something that revives reading in our culture: an author or story or anything remarkable that gets the public reading in masses again. At times, I feel like Harry Potter's hold on many generations could be our greatest hope. At other times, I find myself worrying that in my lifetime I will see the demise of widespread reading. And after reading Molina's essay, I think that as long as there are trains, there will be readers.

For more information:
Listen to Antonio Muñoz Molina read his essay
Listen to Salmon Rushdie read his essay on the same subject