Why I Write

I see various reviews that to some degree express surprise or disappointment that this “isn’t about writing” (or what I think they mean to say: this is not a handbook or a list of illuminating tips and tricks to shed light on “””successful writing”””), but this is the author of 1984 and Animal Farm. So of course he is going to discuss global politics and wartime strifes and how those affected his motivations to write and the writing he produced. Fully agree “…no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.”

(And for the record — he does directly and indirectly discuss the craft of writing throughout all the essays, perhaps in “The Lion and the Unicorn” and “A Hanging” more indirectly but I suppose one would hope that someone who is interested enough in writing would be able to pick up on that.)

Incredible how I can superimpose all the main arguments upon the political rhetoric we use today so many years later, and in America no less.

Learned quite a bit about 1930s England in the process. Will definitely revisit; about 1-2 days worth of reading. Will put this next to my White & Strunk.

Interesting read, but short and with little true insight into the art of writing.

Language and politics nicely brought together in one concise, well-rounded, incredibly straightforward essay by the 20th century political master mind, Orwell.

Great book that covers a ton of different topics. The story at the end is surprisingly horrifying.