--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Michael] Chabon, who is himself a brash…" description: "\"[Michael] Chabon, who is himself a brash and playful and ebullient genre-bender, writes about how our idea of what constitutes literary fiction is a ve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg" --- # \[Michael\] Chabon, who is himself a brash and playful and… ![“[Michael] Chabon, who is himself a brash and playful and ebullient genre-bender, writes about how our idea of what constitutes literary fiction is a very narrow idea that, world-historically, evolved over the last sixty or seventy years or so - that until the rise of that kind of…” quote by Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg) > “\[Michael\] Chabon, who is himself a brash and playful and ebullient genre-bender, writes about how our idea of what constitutes literary fiction is a very narrow idea that, world-historically, evolved over the last sixty or seventy years or so - that until the rise of that kind of third-person-limited, middle-aged-white-guy-experiencing-enlightenment story as in some way the epitome of literary fiction - before that all kinds of crazy things that we would now define as belonging to genre were part of the literary canon.” [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that literary fiction’s definition has been historically narrow, dominated by a specific middle‑aged white male perspective, while earlier genre works were once considered literary. **In simple terms:** Literary fiction was limited to a narrow viewpoint, excluding many genres. Key Takeaway Recognize and value diverse voices in literature. Themes literary canon genre diversity historical perspective Mood reflective critical Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - publishing decisions - academic curricula - book clubs - authorial identity Key Concepts canon formation cultural hegemony genre hybridity Questions to Reflect On - How can we broaden the literary canon today? - What barriers still prevent genre works from being seen as literary? A Different Perspective The argument may overlook ongoing biases that still marginalize non‑mainstream authors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-kinds/) [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Brash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brash/) [Canon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canon/) [Constitutes Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutes-literary-909766/) [Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Crazy things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy-things/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Epitome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epitome/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-kinds-909767/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Genre Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre-bender-909765/) [Genre Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre-literary-909764/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Literary fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-fiction/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Seventies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventies/) [Sixty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixty/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Third person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/third-person/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-guys/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [In fact, one of the things that I really love about literary fiction is that it's one of the few kinds of writing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-fact-one-of-the-things-that-i-really-love-about-literary-fiction/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [There's an explosion of Indian fiction of all kinds, from military thrillers to chicklit. I think that's exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/there-s-an-explosion-of-indian-fiction-of-all-kinds-from-military/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [I hate to see great works of literature ghettoized, whereas others that conform to the rules, conventions, and procedures of the genre we call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/i-hate-to-see-great-works-of-literature-ghettoized-whereas-others/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I think the novel is not so much a literary genre, but a literary space, like a sea that is filled by many rivers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-the-novel-is-not-so-much-a-literary-genre-but-a-literary/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [The novel is not so much a literary genre, but a literary space, like a sea that is filled by many rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-novel-is-not-so-much-a-literary-genre-but-a-literary-space-like-a/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Regan has been amused, in the intervening years, to watch editors who rolled their eyes at Limbaugh scramble to try to duplicate his success.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-regan/regan-has-been-amused-in-the-intervening-years-to-watch-editors-who/) [Judith Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-regan/) > [When you travel you realize how small you are. You need to be humble. You can't be a big, brash American. You think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/when-you-travel-you-realize-how-small-you-are-you-need-to-be-humble/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Humor is hope's companion in arms. It is not brash, it is not cheap, it is not heartless. Among other things I think humor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/humor-is-hope-s-companion-in-arms-it-is-not-brash-it-is-not-cheap-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The brash unbridled tongue, the lawless folly of fools, will end in pain. But the life of wise content is blest with quietness, escapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-brash-unbridled-tongue-the-lawless-folly-of-fools-will-end-in/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Bold and brash, she was different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-everhart/bold-and-brash-she-was-different/) [Donna Everhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-everhart/) > [Because Melissa McCarthy actually is a fat woman, she isnt allowed to make brash statements about body acceptance. She has to apologize for her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-armintrout/because-melissa-mccarthy-actually-is-a-fat-woman-she-isnt-allowed-to/) [Jennifer Armintrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-armintrout/) > [Death is not earnest in the same way the eternal is. To the earnestness of death belongs precisely that remarkable capacity for awakening, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/death-is-not-earnest-in-the-same-way-the-eternal-is-to-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I liked working in advertising, but don't believe my taste in art, such as it is, was entirely formed by TV commercials. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-liked-working-in-advertising-but-don-t-believe-my-taste-in-art-such/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [My image is a statement of the symbols of the harsh, impersonal products and brash materialistic objects on which America is built today. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/my-image-is-a-statement-of-the-symbols-of-the-harsh-impersonal/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More by Emily Barton > [Maybe one of the reasons that I don't ever experience myself as having writer's block is I don't feel that I need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/maybe-one-of-the-reasons-that-i-don-t-ever-experience-myself-as/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [ We \[me and husband \] had been learning about the Khazars, and I had read Michael Chabon's novel \[Gentlemen of the Road\] the year… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/we-me-and-husband-had-been-learning-about-the-khazars-and-i-had-read/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [A good book is a good book, and there are a lot of different ways to approach writing or reading one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/a-good-book-is-a-good-book-and-there-are-a-lot-of-different-ways-to/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [I think that novels are one of the best means that we have to communicate both with the past and with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-think-that-novels-are-one-of-the-best-means-that-we-have-to/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [ \[Michael\] Chabon is arguing in favor of what is at the same time an old-fashioned and very forward-thinking opening up - of taking off… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/michael-chabon-is-arguing-in-favor-of-what-is-at-the-same-time-an-old/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [Teaching and writing, really, they support and nourish each other, and they foster good thinking. Because when you show up in the classroom, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/teaching-and-writing-really-they-support-and-nourish-each-other-and/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [A novel is a way to rethink and rewrite and re-envision the past, and also a way to speak to people who haven't been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/a-novel-is-a-way-to-rethink-and-rewrite-and-re-envision-the-past-and/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [ I'm not for it \[Brookland and The Testament of Yves Gundron \], I'm not against it, I'm just interested in it and how it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-m-not-for-it-brookland-and-the-testament-of-yves-gundron-i-m-not/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [Nobody thinks that there were never mechanical horses in the world. Everybody knows that there aren't really golems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/nobody-thinks-that-there-were-never-mechanical-horses-in-the-world/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [I do think that the idea of writer's block can be very self-defeating for most writers because it's taking a lot of things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-do-think-that-the-idea-of-writer-s-block-can-be-very-self-defeating/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [If I don't write every day for one week or even, frankly, one year, I don't really think too much about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/if-i-don-t-write-every-day-for-one-week-or-even-frankly-one-year-i/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [It's very difficult, I think for most writers, to carve out the time and the kind of imaginative space to do the writing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/it-s-very-difficult-i-think-for-most-writers-to-carve-out-the-time/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [I feel that there is an alternate ending that leaps off too far into fantasy and there is an alternate ending that leaps off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/i-feel-that-there-is-an-alternate-ending-that-leaps-off-too-far-into/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [It would have been a hard year if I'd spent it berating myself for not working on the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/it-would-have-been-a-hard-year-if-i-d-spent-it-berating-myself-for/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) > [There are as many different ways to write a novel as there are varieties of human consciousness, so I am totally delighted if people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/there-are-as-many-different-ways-to-write-a-novel-as-there-are/) [Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) [Explore all 35 Emily Barton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/) ## More All kinds quotes > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [Sydney is full of the craziest and most talented artists of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/sydney-is-full-of-the-craziest-and-most-talented-artists-of-all-kinds/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [You know, the world’s not running out of oil. There’s all kinds of oil left in all kinds of places. …We’re never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rubin/you-know-the-world-s-not-running-out-of-oil-there-s-all-kinds-of-oil/) [Jeff Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rubin/) > [I grew up with all kinds of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/i-grew-up-with-all-kinds-of-people/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The architecture of the song, if it's built properly, can withstand all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/the-architecture-of-the-song-if-it-s-built-properly-can-withstand-all/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [We also need to make sure women can be in charge of their reproductive health. We can't defund places like Planned Parenthood, where women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/we-also-need-to-make-sure-women-can-be-in-charge-of-their/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Do you know people who insist they like 'all kinds of music'? That actually means they like no kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/do-you-know-people-who-insist-they-like-all-kinds-of-music-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) [Browse all 1,489 All kinds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-kinds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Michael] Chabon, who is himself a brash and playful and ebullient genre-bender, writes about how our idea of what constitutes literary fiction is a very narrow idea that, world-historically, evolved over the last sixty or seventy years or so - that until the rise of that kind of third-person-limited, middle-aged-white-guy-experiencing-enlightenment story as in some way the epitome of literary fiction - before that all kinds of crazy things that we would now define as belonging to genre were part of the literary canon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Barton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-and-playful-and-ebullient-genre/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All kinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-and-playful-and-ebullient-genre/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/emily-barton-18422_all-kinds_michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-an_1676238.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Michael] Chabon, who is himself a brash and playful and ebullient genre-bender, writes about how our idea…” — Emily Barton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Barton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "[Michael] Chabon, who is himself a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-and-playful-and-ebullient-genre/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/michael-chabon-who-is-himself-a-brash-and-playful-and-ebullient-genre/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```