Haha if we were measuring them on literary merit most would be promptly dumped in the garbage. This is kinda just what early sci fi was like, it's rarely about the stories, the stories just contextualize ideas.
> literary merit most would be promptly dumped in the garbage
Hmm. This is utterly wrong.
I am dismayed by this attitude towards scifi writing based on the socalled "literary merit". What is literary merit? It's a measurement of the writer's ability to use human language to convey ideas. Just that. That skill is tangible between different content as well. Just because SciFi idea and a human emotional idea are different, do not translate into different literary merit.
Now back to the judge on "writer's ability to use human language to convey ideas".
Really, in what sense the SciFi writers are inferior to other literary writers in this measurement?
Isn't that SciFi writing are not poetic? Of course, SciFi are not poets. And if there is a poetic story, I see not reason why any SciFi writers cannot be poetic. Dune, in some parts, are certainly very poetic. Just because the content is not poetic, which would be a wrong choice to use poetic wordings, that does not dminish the litrary value.
Isn't that SciFi writing are not sophisticated enough? No, scifi's sophistication is the ideas, the ideas that builton futuristic technology and human environments. Those ideas are certainly less emotionally attached than other writings. But again, those ideas are better served in the SciFi writing. One can say SciFi ideas are less literary, but one cannot say SciFi writings are less litrary.
The list goes on and on...
This attitude towards SciFi itself is a symptom of the resistance from the stagnant literary community.
Hmm. This is utterly wrong.
I am dismayed by this attitude towards scifi writing based on the socalled "literary merit". What is literary merit? It's a measurement of the writer's ability to use human language to convey ideas. Just that. That skill is tangible between different content as well. Just because SciFi idea and a human emotional idea are different, do not translate into different literary merit.
Now back to the judge on "writer's ability to use human language to convey ideas".
Really, in what sense the SciFi writers are inferior to other literary writers in this measurement?
Isn't that SciFi writing are not poetic? Of course, SciFi are not poets. And if there is a poetic story, I see not reason why any SciFi writers cannot be poetic. Dune, in some parts, are certainly very poetic. Just because the content is not poetic, which would be a wrong choice to use poetic wordings, that does not dminish the litrary value.
Isn't that SciFi writing are not sophisticated enough? No, scifi's sophistication is the ideas, the ideas that builton futuristic technology and human environments. Those ideas are certainly less emotionally attached than other writings. But again, those ideas are better served in the SciFi writing. One can say SciFi ideas are less literary, but one cannot say SciFi writings are less litrary.
The list goes on and on...
This attitude towards SciFi itself is a symptom of the resistance from the stagnant literary community.