Time for New Voices
One person's Oscar Wilde is another person's Dr. Seuss. It doesn’t matter how good a writer is, their work will only appeal to a finite percentage of potential readers. William Shakespeare may be the greatest writer who ever lived, but the language he used – so far ahead of its time that he coined a whole textbook worth of new words and phrases – was pretty dated by the end of the 20th century. Lots of theatre-goers and readers continue to love and appreciate his eloquent voice, but a good proportion of his potential audiences has trouble staying engaged with the now-archaic language. While the Bard effectively addresses the basic shortcomings of human nature, his work can’t be expected to pointedly confront issues more relevant to modern times. “Nope. That Shakespeare fella’s not for me,” a Mark Twain or Clive Barker lover might say. The public’s tastes change constantly over time as different challenges face humanity; different issues fill the mass consciousness;...