possibly noteworthy wrote: Neal Stephenson delivered a talk entitled The Fork: Science Fiction versus Mundane Culture at Gresham College.
oh dear what a pity that a writer whose novels I have very much enjoyed can come out with such a load of rubbish he talks about current literary theory more as an idiot than a savant since he completely seems to be ignorant of what really gets taught. My knowledge is a little out of date since I got my BA in English 16 years ago but I did study Science Fiction in my final year, I did do other modules which examined genres, (I also did crime fiction as a final year module) as a reader on current literary theory on science fiction then I would recommend "The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction" edited by Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn and I've dug out one of my old college books "The Study of Popular Fiction A Source Book" by Bob Ashley I am a huge Science Fiction fan and Diamond Age is probably my favourite 90s SF novel -- I also have a BA in English -- I also love Jane Austin et al and from time to time indulge in so called literary novels (my current is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel HALF OF A YELLOW SUN which I'm breaking the rules by not reading but listening to as an audio book; and before that I listened to Homer's Odyssey) but I also have waiting to be read the latest Terry Pratchett, the latest Alaster Reynolds and Neal Asher and the most recent SF novels I read were Matter by Iain M Banks and Brasyl by Ian McDonald ( there would normally be something more recent but I am currently rereading all 20 of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels as a precursor to reading the final unfinished novel uncompleted when he died) there is a level of prejudice against Science Fiction amongst certain areas of the literary establishment but there is also a common thread in the SF world of woe is me I am a serious writer -- SF can be literary -- but "they" don't take us seriously --- they treat us as second class -- we're stuck in the ghetto-- get over it -- because slowly but surely the literary establishment is -- so hearing someone as important as Neal Stephenson moaning about it is frankly a pain | 
