Writing for the Middle Class

I read a really interesting interview with Dan Chaon, the author of Await Your Reply. In it, he talks about writing for the middle class, a demographic of people that he believes have been represented by other writers as "TV-watching, twinkie-eating hicks."

He believes this is a reflection of the overall status gap in America. Chaon (pronounced SHAWN) cites Faulkner having lived amongst both the wealthy and the poor while growing up, and so there's a much greater respect for the middle and lower classes in his writing.

Until I read this interview, it hadn't really occurred to me that I rarely read novels about the middle class anymore. Most authors today seem to pen novels about the incredibly wealthy or the destitute, but never anyone just getting by, and what that entails.

Part of this might be that extremes are interesting--the very term "middle class" implies a lower level of interest in terms of material. That being said, I've looked over the past twenty books I've read--Yes, I keep a list, I'm THAT guy--and twelve of them involve either college professors as characters or the impoverished.

Perhaps Chaon is right. Maybe exposure is to blame. We're awfully good about keeping people in their place nowadays. Moreso than before, it seems like people who are allowed to express themselves creatively and make a living at it need the contacts and networking abilities that only the wealthy are privy to, and if the wealthy are secluded from the rest of society, then it stands to reason they're going to be the ones represented the most in the arts market.

I realize this is a sweeping generalization. Many people break into the writing world through hard work and luck, but not many.

I remember when I was applying to colleges for theater, and I was getting discouraged because my math grades were lousy. I remember thinking--

"Is there some sort of correlation between being a good actor and being good at algebra?"

I was even willing to go the extra step and wonder if someone whose spent five hours a day on AP Trig would have the right social skills to survive in the world of theater.

There are still some exceptions to all this:

Anne Tyler is a wonderful when it comes to writing about the middle class--although her latest book does deal with--

(You guessed it.)

--a college professor.