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                                                      July 26, 2020

A rare bit of praise for American
culture from Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Ta-Nehisi Coates, "Eight Years in Power" (2017):

    "As much I loved the culture of France, and I
    did, I knew that I was lucky not to have been
    born there.  Their particular philosophy of
    merit, the intense focus on grades and tests,
    the rigid class stratification, would have made
    my story impossible.  It is, I think, the very
    chaos of America that allowed me to prosper.  I
    could come to New York and declare myself a
    writer, and while a degree from Harvard might
    have helped, it was not essential.  The chaos of
    America, and perhaps mor aptly the chaos of New
    York, made it seem that anything could happen."

                               p. 286




    When Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about writing, by the way,
    it's remarkable how *privileged* he sounds.  Why did
    he try writing fiction?  Well his editor told him to.
    He wants to try writing like James Baldwin, so he
    talks his editor into letting him go for it.


        Most of us don't even dream of having an editor,
        let alone a regular paying gig as a writer.





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