# Richard Russo on the Purpose of Literature



## Kyle R (Dec 8, 2011)

The following is an excerpt from the introduction to BASS 2010 (Best American Short Stories), in which Pulitzer Prize winning author, Richard Russo, shares his insights on the purpose of writing. 

I found this both ____________ and ___________, and while you likely have no idea what those two blanks are supposed to represent, after reading this you will fully understand.



			
				Richard Russo said:
			
		

> IN THE LATE 1980's, when I was a young assistant professor at Southern Illinois University, Isaac Bashevis Singer visited campus. The English department had a small budget for visiting writers, but only the Honors College had funds sufficient to entice someone of Singer's stature to a place like Carbondale, Illinois, which meant that we had to share him with the entire university.
> 
> Mr. Singer was elderly and quite frail, his vision and hearing not what they once were, though his physical diminishments belied a still razor-sharp intelligence and wit. He traveled with his wife, and they were attentively cared for by the university, but for a man in his nineties he was worked pretty hard. In the afternoon, both undergraduate and grad students, as well as faculty from a variety of university disciplines, convened in a large room with an oblong table, at the head of which Mr. Singer had been ensconced. The students were awarded seats at the table, whereas their professors, chafing visibly at the arrangement, were consigned to an outer ring of folding chairs and reminded that the purpose of the session was to allow students to enter a dialogue with the great man, that _their_ questions got priority. Seated at the very farthest remove from her husband was Mrs. Singer.
> 
> ...



Much has been omitted here, and he continues on, comparing short stories to a jar full of bees among other things, so if you’d like to read the Introduction in its entirety, pick up a copy of “The Best American Short Stories 2010”. It also has some superb short fiction.

Cheers


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