Art Quote by Percival Everett
“Everybody should read fiction… I don’t think serious fiction is written for a few people. I think we live in a stupid culture that won’t educate its people to read these things. It would be a much more interesting place if it would. And it’s not just that mechanics and plumbers don’t read literary fiction, it’s that doctors and lawyers don’t read literary fiction. It has nothing to do with class, it has to do with an anti-intellectual culture that doesn’t trust art.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Literary Discussion, 1995
Critiques society's neglect of literary fiction, labeling it an anti‑intellectual culture that fails to value art.
In simple terms: Society undervalues literary fiction, harming cultural depth.
Key Takeaway
Encourage reading of literary fiction across professions.
Themes
culture
education
literature
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
cultural
educational
When to use this quote
- school curricula
- book clubs
- professional development
- media promotion
Key Concepts
anti‑intellectualism
cultural criticism
Questions to Reflect On
- How can literary fiction become more accessible?
- What benefits arise from broader reading habits?
A Different Perspective
Some may view literary fiction as elitist.
![“[Science fiction is] that class of prose narrative treating of a situation that could not arise in the world we know, but which is hypothesised on the basis of some innovation in science or technology, or pseudo-science or pseudo-technology, whether human or extra-terrestrial in origin. It is…” quote by Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/970/kingsley-amis-5258_achieve_science-fiction-is-that-class-of-prose-n_1333743.jpg)
