We need to correct the misconception that ‘literary’ always implies ‘intelligent/serious’, while ‘popular’ is a synonym for ‘shallow/dumb’.

It is imperative that artist speak the language of the age in which they live, regardless of the message they convey through their works. It is very possible to construct a ‘literary’ work in a contemporary way. The scholar Thomas Cahill has demonstrated this in a very fluent way with his “Hinges of History” series, which deals with ancient historical facts and issues, but which anyone can pick up and read.

In the end knowledge must be made accessible (‘popular’) to the wider populace if it’s going to have any meaningful impact on society.

By the way, Stephen King’s “The Stand” is an all-time classic by any standards…at least in my dictionary.

You bring up a question of great interest to me. What literature/books/fictional art of the current generation will stand the test of time? There’s a traditional schism between literature and pop fiction, and generally the snobbish academy looks askance at popular success. But the greatest artists transcend this schism and manage to do both.

Will the academy of critics and college professors be able to preserve their status as gatekeepers of the alleged canon into this century, or will this deteriorate more and more? As one with a BA in English and and MA in critical thinking, I wonder. Working in publishing, I’ve often encountered works that recieve academy approval yet are just dreadfully precious, pretentious stuff that fails to transcend concept and exercise and provide genuine artful insight. My opinionis that audience matters. It must. The most important insight of any art lacks utility if that insight can not be communicated well enough for more than a handful to grasp.

With the now common transition of entertaining fiction writing into film, I think it’s likely that someone like Stephen King is going to stand some sort of test of time, even if the future members of the snob academy relegate him to 2nd tier status for working in both pop and in horror, as with Poe.