In some sense. For me, what writers up until the period o...

In some sense. For me, what writers up until the period of late modernism could rely upon was the prestige implicit in the idea of literature. What contemporary writers, in my view, need to contend with, is the marginality of literature within our culture. Kafka did not believe in religion but he could still believe in art. That same belief in art today, if not grotesque, is based upon a great capacity for denial.

'How Refreshing it is to be Insulted': New interview with me at the New Statesman . Juliet Jacques asked the questions.