Transgressive Writing

Because I (and others) consider my novel-in-progress to be a transgressive book involving transgressive sex, I was very struck when I received a comment about this sort of thing in an email conversation with my friend George. (I should mention that George, a visual artist and poet, doesn’t like capital letters.)

“i consider (Updike) to be one of those who substantiate my idea that the theme for 20th century art is transgression…..perhaps it is always the operant theme….for success.”

As Burger King ads have argued, “Sometimes you’ve gotta break the rules.”

Two thoughts of my own on this subject:
*First know the rules and then break them, as needed, for good reasons. To be worthwhile the breakage must accomplish something.
*Know that there are likely to be be some costs involved.

I’m hoping that useful transgression will also be a theme of the early twenty-first century.

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Categories: business of writing, rule-breaking