Writings on Writing:
From an interview in the New York Times (9/21/24) with Sally Rooney:
Asked about "a recurring theme in your work: how one might live a meaningful life in a time of historical crisis," Rooney responds: "I think the rate at which we're destroying our planetary ecosystems is completely unsustainable. We kind of know that there is no way that we can continue living the lifestyles we live under the economic systems that we have designed and continue to propagate. That's a crisis that is extremely pressing, and I'm aware that I've spent three years of my life working on a novel that does not really directly contribute anything to the struggle against these forces. I absolutely question why I've done that. Partly because I didn't know what else to do. Also, I suppose, I tell myself that in the midst of all this, people need not become so incredibly overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems that we're facing as to feel that life itself is no longer meaningful and that there's no reason to go on. Part of what I feel is that art has a role in giving people a reason to go on, and that is an important thing in and of itself. 'I don't know' is the answer to the question. A lot of this would be more easy to justify if I could say, 'Thankfully, all my novels are works of genius.' But what I will say is they're completely sincere. If they're bad, then they're sincerely bad. I genuinely put my heart and soul into them. And I had to write them. I feel like I didn't have any choice."
