Jonathan Lethem , author of Motherless Brooklyn From my window it seems like those old arguments between metafiction and traditional realism, the encyclopedic and minimalist strategies, the fantastic and the mundane, are no longer sustainable. Samuel R. Delany , author of Times Square Red, Times Square Blue With the black magic realism of Thomas Disch, the philosophical allegories of James Morrow, and the alternate historical explorations of John Crowley, fiction is certainly imaginative enough. What we lack is a critical apparatus that is willing to respond to it. The fact is, criticism has to be at least as imaginative as fiction. If it isn't, then both writers and audience are left on the parched plateau of art that is pure reproduction.
Experimental writing is bad writing.
And, what's more, the audience applauded. We're going to continue to see a literature more reflective of the people who live here. There's going to be a continued flood of wonderful girl books. Our century started with the boy novel Mark Twain and so forth and is ending with girls books like Fran Gordon's Paisley Girl and hot coming of age novels from African American women. Another development that's fabulous is that we're getting more novels by poets, such as Paul Beatty, who's really sensitive to language.