Book
Does Writing Have a Future?
Writing & NarrativeWhat is Does Writing Have a Future? in the Agency editorial?
Does Writing Have a Future? is a book by Vilém Flusser. In Writing.1, the edition cites it briefly: Flusser bravely argued that writing does not have a future. Issue.16 quotes a passage from it, page 42, on contemporary publishing that sets out to numb readers.
In short
In Writing.1, the book appears in a single sentence. After asserting that claiming we are entering a post-literary era feels like heresy against human expression, the edition says Vilém Flusser bravely argued that writing does not have a future, with the book's title given in parentheses. The edition then counters that the death of writing may only truly come if writers do not wake up from their numbness. In Issue.16, after saying that most of the entertainment we consume today is made to anesthetize us, the author writes that Flusser said it first and quotes page 42 of the book, in the University of Minnesota Press edition: "Most contemporary publishing sets out to numb readers."
Key facts
- How is the book cited?
- In a single sentence: Flusser bravely argued that writing does not have a future.
- How does the edition respond to Flusser's argument?
- That the death of writing may only come if writers do not wake up from their numbness and lack of responsibility.
- How is the book used in Issue.16?
- Issue.16 quotes page 42, where Flusser says most contemporary publishing sets out to numb readers, to back its point that much of today's entertainment is made to anesthetize us.
What is the book?
Does Writing Have a Future? is a book by Vilém Flusser. The German original was published in 1987; the English translation appeared in 2011. These identification facts come from outside the editions and are marked for verification.
How does it appear in the editions?
In Writing.1, the book is mentioned in passing. After calling the idea of a post-literary era an act of heresy against human expression, the edition says Vilém Flusser bravely argued that writing does not have a future, and places the book title in parentheses. The article then counters that the death of writing may only come if writers do not wake up from their numbness, presenting Writing.1 itself as a wake-up call.
In Issue.16, the author writes that most of the entertainment we consume today is made to anesthetize us, with cheap stories and superficially written characters, and that the Czech-Brazilian professor Vilém Flusser said it first. The edition then quotes page 42 of the book, citing the University of Minnesota Press, on publishers and writers as functionaries in a benumbing business.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.