With the exception of journalists and political/war correspondents, I do not believe writers purposely cram their work with events from their time. It is not in their interest to inform their audience on something they are already aware of.
However, somehow, social and political events will always end up affecting a writer’s work, such as in the case of Emily Dickinson. She was a recluse – secluded by her own demons in a bedroom for most of her life – yet still news of the Civil War seeped into her poetry.
Below is an extract from one of her purest poems about the Civil War, which will most probably prove popular with many other blogs. Dickinson’s writing is astoundingly beautiful, moving the reader and proving that writers do not need to personally experience hell to feel the fire.
They dropped like flakes, they dropped like stars,
Like petals from a rose,
When suddenly across the lune
A wind with fingers goes.
They perished in the seamless grass,
No eye could feel the place;
But God on his reapealless list
Can summon every face
Writer’s cannot help but be influenced by events that surround them, especially those as horrifying as war. A trend in writing today is setting stories in the post-apocalyptic and dystopian futures. A commentary on what the world will be like in the near future if we continue to live, fight and purge as we do today, writing such as The Hunger Games and many others are just a few examples of social and political events effecting a writer’s work.
Interesting examples :), I also agree that issues of the time will somehow work their way into a writers work whether intentionally or not. I like your contrast with looking at Dickinson's work and how social and political issues affected her work as well as modern literature such as the Hunger Games, very good post.
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