Awww, honey.

[constance]

"...[A]ll literature, highbrow or low, from the Aeneid onward, is fan fiction....Through parody and pastiche, allusion and homage, retelling and reimagining the stories that were told before us and that we have come of age loving--amateurs--we proceed, seeking out the blank places in the map that our favorite writers, in their greatness and negligence, have left for us, hoping to pass on to our own readers--should we be lucky enough to find any--some of the pleasure that we ourselves have taken in the stuff that we love: to get in on the game. All novels are sequels; influence is bliss."

--Michael Chabon

Comments

[isis]

From where is this (lovely!) quote?

[constance]

It's from his essay collection Maps and Legends -- the hardcover is now on sale at McSweeney's, and there's also a paperback available -- which is a fun exploration of genre fiction, and his love for and defense of it. Definitely worth a read!