From: (Anonymous)	Date: December 3rd, 2003 09:54 pm (UTC)		(wanna link?)

Genre came to mean fantasy/horror/sci-fi when mysteries snuck around through the backdoor into Literature Proper. The genre books, disdainful of the intellectualism that renders the denizens of Literature Proper into scarce more than cliches hoisted and re-hoisted, maintain their camp outside of the suburb Comic Fiction.

The politics of the situation are quite dreadful. There's been talk of bringing Jane Austen back to write a definitive peerage of Literature Proper and its environs. The decision, however, is continually blocked by high-ranking members of the Critical Establishment- who find Miss Austen's works far too popular to be taken seriously.

In completely unrelated news: Stephen King has announced that he will throw his hat in the ring for the coveted title of Mayor of Literature Proper. He points out the incumbent, Mister William Shakespeare (who has been Mayor of Literature Proper for nearly 200 years), is rather creaky around the edges and suffers from extreme ego attacks. Mister King politely reminds Mayor Shakespeare that, despite the protestations of many high ranking members of the Critical Establishment, Mister Shakespeare did not invent the English Language and should, in the words of Mister King, "stop pretending that he was anything more than the James Cameron of his era".

Mister Shakespeare could not be reached for comment, but apparently both Elizabeth the First and Francis Bacon are preparing press releases.

Chad