Midterm Essay

            In the book Enemies of Promise, written in 1938, Cyril Connolly once famously said, “Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read once.” Although to some this can be seen as offensive, it’s not meant to be interpreted in that way. Cyril Connolly was speaking the truth. She blatantly stated the significant difference between journalism and literature. Many would say that journalism is literature, and in a way, that is true. However, common literature and journalism are two very different things.

            Literature is pleasurable to the eyes and mind. An author of a book strives to create something where a reader will want to continue to read their work. Writing literature is an art and writing good literature is a gift. People who are good at this art will create pieces that will be read twice. The goal of a writer is to make something so interesting and enjoyable, that people will want to read it over and over again, and not get bored of it. Of course no writer would be appealing to all ages, genders, and people in general, for everyone has different interests. Some people are better than others when it comes to certain topics, however that’s how the literary world works. It’s competitive for appealing to people’s minds. People like to be able to relate to the lives of the characters in the stories they read. If they can’t, then they may find the story uninteresting, since they have nothing in common with the main character(s).

            “Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read once,” Connolly stated, is not about putting journalism down, but telling what the job of journalism is. Journalism is about being here and now and getting news on the latest stories. All around the world, journalism is a big part of culture because without it, the citizens of the towns, cities, and countries wouldn’t know what was going on around them. Journalism is not about wanting to write articles so they’re read more than once, but about relating the facts in an efficient way, which inform the readers about the world around them. As opposed to literature, journalism is about reading to learn. Journalists’ jobs are to give informative information. You only need to read it once before you know what’s going on and what the problem is. It should be short and to the point, but also filled with detail.

            When analyzing this quote by Cyril Connolly, it’s clear that she knows the difference between literature and journalism. Both are considered art, just different kinds of art. Her book Enemies of Promise was successful when it came out and even now, her book is still quoted. Journalism and literature are both, forms of art. No matter which kind of writer you are, if you’re good, you’re good, and your work will be read everywhere, maybe even more than twice.