Janet Malcolm Quotes:
Ocupation: Writer
Life: b. 1934
The βIβ character in journalism is almost pure invention. Unlike the βIβ of autobiography, who is meant to be seen as a representation of the writer, the βIβ of journalism is connected to the writer only in a tenuous wayβthe way, say, that Superman is connected to Clark Kent. The journalistic βIβ is an overreliable narrator, a functionary to whom crucial tasks of narration and argument and tone have been entrusted, an ad hoc creation, like the chorus of Greek tragedy. He is an emblematic figure, an embodiment of the idea of the dispassionate observer of life.
source: "The Journalist and the Murderer". Book by Janet Malcolm, March 20, 1989.
topic: Character, Ideas, Greek, Journalistic, Greek Tragedy, Narration
