Writers Ponder America and Its Role in Global Political Culture

Back on April 29th, The New York Times published a special op-ed section with this intro:

From April 30 to May 6, 100 writers from 25 countries will be in New York for a festival sponsored by the PEN American Center.

As part of the festival, A. O. Scott, a critic for The New York Times, will talk with the writers Martin Amis, Margaret Atwood and E. L. Doctorow at a Times Talk event on May 2, co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Canada in New York.

We asked those three writers — Ms. Atwood from Canada, Mr. Amis from Britain and Mr. Doctorow from the United States — to consider the question of America and its role in global political culture. Here are their answers.

I admire these three authors for their fiction, but I wasn't so sure about what they would have to say about this issue.  I think their thoughts are worth passing on.  I did not notice these essays linked anywhere else, so I am passing them on:

• Click here for Atwood
• Click here for Doctorow
• Click here for Amis

Personally, I am partial to Ms. Atwood's essay mostly because she said in order to understand America you need to read Hawthorne and Melville (my top 2 favorite authors ever!)