As we told you, it’s apparently Agatha Christie’s turn to have her classic works rewritten for a modern audience’s modern sensibilities.
Agatha Christie novels reworked to remove potentially offensive language https://t.co/GaY2v4ebZ5
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 26, 2023
This kind of crap should piss off everyone who cares about literature and preserving the integrity of literature. So you’d think that of all people, a celebrated author would be leading the charge against it.
But you’d have forgotten about Joyce Carol Oates. She of the reliably white-hot takes has offered up yet another white-hot take, this time on the literary revisionism of an author who walked so other woman authors could run:
I wasn't alive at the time: was there the same outrage either of the two times her novel, now known as "And Then There Were None", was renamed? Would it be as commonly enjoyed today with its original title?
— Aaron Brown (@aaronwbrown) March 27, 2023
Agatha Christie is not revered as a stylist, nor as a writer reflecting sociological realism; rather, her plots are clever & usually provide some sort of "twist." changing her language will hardly matter as it would in a more literary writer (Twain, Faulkner). https://t.co/kxthucWmlE
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) March 27, 2023
Shorter Joyce: “Eh, who cares if Agatha Christie’s work is bowdlerized? It’s not like her writing reflects sociological realism or anything. Chill out, y’all!”
"First they came for Agatha Christie, and I did not speak out, because she was not revered as a stylist."
— Millennial Woes (@MillennialWoes) March 27, 2023
Also, funny that she should mention Mississippi son William Faulkner, whose literary writing she suggested was inaccessible to Mississippians because they’re all backwater illiterates.
But we digress.
What we have here is a celebrated author justifying censorship of other celebrated authors.
"sensitivity readers" today are doing what, in some instances, "editors" should have done decades ago. it just seems alarming & annoying today, when such "editing" is more visible. every writer is "edited"–examinations of mss. will show.
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) March 27, 2023
This is insane, guys.
Artists against art https://t.co/bxF748SHNN
— Christian Toto (@HollywoodInToto) March 27, 2023
That’s literally what this is!
My god what is wrong with you
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) March 27, 2023
The list of what isn’t wrong with her is a whole lot shorter, just in case you’re pressed for time.
But they are not yours or anyone’s to change. They are her stories, her words, her language. Changing her work after her death disrespects both the author and the work.
— AmErican Celt ☘️☘️☘️ (@Flipper628) March 27, 2023
An author is saying this? Shame on you and enjoy having the thought police come for your work.
— Bleu Cheque (@VERBAL_CHANCLA) March 27, 2023
But maybe there’s an upside to the whole thought-police thing:
I look forward to the revisions others want to make to your work.
— Mad as Ell (@mad_as_ell) March 27, 2023
At least we have started a process that ends with someone going back when you’re gone and changing your writings so they make some sense.
— Write Girl Problems (@WriteGrlProbs) March 27, 2023
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with an additional tweet.
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Related:
Joyce Carol Oates perplexed by old photo of Winsome Sears holding a rifle; ‘She is in no danger’
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