On women writing
So V. S. Naipaul , the Nobel laureate, has caused quite a stir by claiming that women writers are inferior to men. Of course, some people have been up in arms about it. Some people have just laughed it off . Some people have applauded Naipaul (here's a free sick bucket). Before I start, I am female and a batshit insane liberal, and sexism gets me mad. So no, I'm not your average bigot. Not at all. (In fact, I'd hesitate to describe myself as a bigot.) And, for all this, I'm forced to admit that he has a point. "YOU SEXIST!" you cry. "YOU TRAITOR TO THE FEMALE SEX! HOW DARE YOU!" "Hold your horses," I say, "and let me explain my point." Yes, there are good female writers out there - there's Doris Lessing and Agatha Christie, for example, and I'm a Jo Shapcott fan (I know that that's technically poetry, but still). Hell, I've been tipped off that Vera Britten's very good as well. I've got nothing...