Back in 2011 I pondered a dilemma. In that article I’d recently found out something unsavoury about a favourite childhood author. I was pondering whether to keep the book by this author listed on my website or get rid of it. Would I be able to sell it to somebody else or would I feel dreadful with that action. I took some time to make the decision but I got rid of the book. I also stopped selling pre-loved books online some time later but the two are not connected. I’ve got a similar dilemma now. I won’t name anyone, but this is a popular author and there are some allegations against them.
I have seen or participated in a number of conversations on Facebook on this very topic. My friends are absolutely horrified and we all believe the victims. I’m sure there are some people out there who support the author and believe their words, but none of the friends I’ve spoken with.
The dilemma we have is whether to read, or even keep, these books. Do the actions of the author taint their works? Or does their book override their behaviour? That is the question I pose today. Does it depend on the what sort of behaviour the author exhibited? If they have cheated the tax department, will you still read their books? What about a little light murder, or possibly manslaughter? I could list a few more things, but it can get a bit dark from here on in so I’ll leave the other possibilites to your imagination.
And that’s the problem. How much can the author do before what their behaviour infects their artwork and makes it impossible for you to ever read or view their artwork again? It is a problem and I can’t answer for you, it’s your choice to make. And it’s a tough decision to make.
I don’t have an answer that spans all possible problems, if I did I’d probably have a million dollars. I have an answer for me and that’s to get rid of most of their books. There is one I gloss over in the next paragraph which is cowritten by another author. This other author’s reputation is unsullied and we all expect that they would be horrified by the allegations.
Many of my friends have made the decision to keep the books cowritten with another author and to put something over this author’s name. But they’re also getting rid of all the other books by this author.
While I was reading the discussions my mind kept turning to one of my fellow students from my uni degree a few years ago. We were part of Deakin Writers and he brought in a book by his favourite author and was surprised when I agreed that this author is actually really good. He was expecting me to name my favourite author as being a better writer. I just wonder how he’s going with this news and if he’s wrestling with the same problem as me.
I did expect to have more words about this, but my fingers are all worded out. I do want to ask you to think about this dilemma. You don’t have to comment here but I just want you to think about it.