I had a whole second half to my article that I cut, arguing that literature had moved on from fiction and is going back to poetry. The literary man had quit being a novelist, because the genre had grown stale from people like Morris, and was going to become a poet again. I cut it because I felt I was running away with the plot, but here you lay it out much better than I could.
I like your distinction between "letters" and "fiction." It's absolutely true. A man of letters is something to aspire to.
I had a whole second half to my article that I cut, arguing that literature had moved on from fiction and is going back to poetry. The literary man had quit being a novelist, because the genre had grown stale from people like Morris, and was going to become a poet again. I cut it because I felt I was running away with the plot, but here you lay it out much better than I could.
I like your distinction between "letters" and "fiction." It's absolutely true. A man of letters is something to aspire to.
Thanks for letting me write the second half!