Then do the same thing with Hemingway (or Dickens) and see what the response is. What I suspect is that there are just as many good writers these days (perhaps more) they just don't generate the same amount of cultural awareness since the market place for culture is so much broader.
There seems to be less of a consensus of what the cultural core contains. This may even be a good thing - too much uniformity constricts creativity. Policies not Politics ---- Daily Landscape
This brings up the whole issue of popular culture vs the "classics". Perhaps I'll write something up about this, the idea of a core of knowledge that needs to be taught in schools has been a contentious issue in the US since the 1960's when Columbia University came out with its two year "Contemporary Civilization" course. Lots of schools adopted the text (which was just selections from the "core") and fights over what should be included have never ceased. Policies not Politics ---- Daily Landscape
