Why I Keep Politics Out of My Writing

Member-only story Why I Keep Politics Out of My Writing Politics is everywhere, which is precisely why I do not want it everywhere in my writing. There are countless subjects worth examining that have political implications. Identity, recovery, authority, freedom, social belonging, education, religion, and even dreams can all be dragged into the political arena. Once there, however, the original subject often disappears. The discussion becomes less about understanding an idea and more about determining which side the writer occupies. That is not the kind of writing I want to produce. I am interested in the inner life. I write about meaning, symbolism, recovery, imagination, identity, and the unconscious. These subjects already contain enough depth without being forced through the narrow machinery of partisan conflict. My purpose is not to tell readers what political position they should hold. I want to offer them ways of thinking about their own lives. That does not mean I have no opinions. It means I do not believe every opinion deserves publication. Writers are often encouraged to speak publicly on every controversy, especially when a subject is attracting attention. Silence can be interpreted as cowardice, avoidance, or complicity. But refusing to enter every argument is not necessarily fear. Sometimes it is discernment. A writer must decide what belongs to the work. I learned this firsthand after publishing an essay about Electric Forest. The…