Thursday, March 06, 2008

Is a faked autobiography any less literature for being faked?

There have been several scandals recently when the author of an "autobiography" turns out to have made it all up. It is a novel rather than fact. Now does the artist have to be ethical to be talented? The same question was asked about Leni Reifenstahl, the Nazi filmmaker. In reality art does not change according to the views or behavior of the creator. So if a book is outstanding should it really be removed from shelves if it turns out to be fiction?

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