Boycott of Arizona

[Christopher Valen]

It's being suggested that conventioneers, entertainers, even spring training for major league baseball boycott Arizona because of the unprecedented immigration law that just passed. Given the number of Latino players from Mexico, South America, Puerto Rico, etc., it should be interesting next spring, particularly if any of them are stopped at random. Any thoughts from writers? Should we avoid events, signings, etc., in Arizona as a protest? I recently blogged my thoughts about the law at: http://open.salon.com/blog/christopher_valen

[I. J. Parker]

You are not allowed to post. The thread is "closed." Or it was the last time I looked. The only reason I'm grumbling is that I couldn't figure out what the reason was. I thought maybe it was getting too long, but that's clearly not the case. And I have in the past been nervous about getting into politics here, so I was surprised Arizona was still cooking, (not that I object). Either way, I am utterly puzzled why Daniel closed the thread about why we read mysteries instead of literary masterpieces.

[doug anderson]

It's certainly a great subject. My answer is that people want moral engagement. They see the mess of the world and want to make sense out of it. Even writers like John Banville are writing crime fiction now. After years of exploring literary form, people are returning to plot and structure. It seems perfectly logical to me.

[I. J. Parker]

I like that explanation, though Banville probably likes to make some money from a different audience. Not a whole lot of difference between his mysteries and his literary novels.

[doug anderson]

He's a terrific writer in anything he does.

[Jon Loomis]

The person who started the thread appears to have locked it. Not sure why--perhaps she felt it was drifting off-topic.

[I. J. Parker]

Hah! Thanks.