The Socially Engaged Littérateur

I stumbled across the term ‘fin de siècle’ relating to an artistic renaissance in the late 19^th century, but more specifically this term was applied to describing a “socially engaged littérateur”, as in the trade itself of writing professionally.  This term, with obvious French derivatives, translates directly into a writer, or literary connoisseur, that composes words on a number of levels, for a variety of purposes and uses as well as a wordsmith by trade or profession.

Photo By Daderot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It’s ironic how trends resurface under the name “retro”, words too can be recycled, rehashed and re-appreciated by a new audience. It is even more poignant that this term, social engaged littérateur can mean something entirely appropriate and different today, with the additional meaning of ‘socially engaged’. Most of us know this to mean involved with the online word, connected not just physically or with wi-fi (but it has become a necessity rather than a luxury). It means having an identity or presence, reachable, accountable, contributing and productive.

By contrast to how appropriate being socially engaged is now for a writer like myself, per se, being a true littérateur is almost being phased out! Sure being a Jack of all trades and Master of none, is not a valuable contribution, but that is not what this term really (literally) means. A littérateur is a specialist-a professional. The growing demand online for niches and professional expertise takes the opportunity from the true littérateur by nature and not just trade.   

The quote by Isaac Asimov I am able to relate to and is even on my website, “I write for the same reason I breathe-because if I didn’t I would die” It affirms I am not alone in seeing, eating, drinking and breathing not just words but the assembly of words-it’s magical. It’s more than a profession. A gift-perhaps. A curse-perhaps. Yet everyday humanity in words stares back at me, stoking my creative fire. How could I be just one type of writer when poetry dances in my head? When I am deep in writing the great (not American) novel? When I love a great Op Ed piece, or appreciate a great script, or song lyrics that seem to know just how I feel-all words in their ways stoke my fire!

Pigeon holed, that’s what the term writer can mean. What type of writer? A Freelance Writer-that’s a little better of a term, since it contains the word “free”, but also has the bottom feeder sound or just says “I’m dabbling in writing”-which is just not the case for me personally.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a great time to be a writer! There is an overwhelming demand for not just new and fresh content-but quality content that doesn’t allow for tricks (as in black hat SEO, keyword stuffing, etc.). The cream rises to the top of Google, and if you can wrap your head around what major search engines are trying to do, getting ranked highly is not rocket science. Create quality, knowledgeable, relevant, interesting, appropriate and informative content-formatting and a host of other things make information easier to digest of course, there are basic rules of every road-in professional writing as well.

So adapting and reacting are part of the changing way we gobble up words, and I will always try to adapt and perfect, because a true writer does not have only one message (fortunately and unfortunately) and often a variety of forms of writing inspire them, like me.   

So-I figured it out. I am not one to let good words, in this case the perfect words, go unused-My name is Tonya and I am a social engaged litterateur.

“Every day one should at least hear one little song, read one good poem, see one fine painting and -- if at all possible -- speak a few sensible words.” 

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe