Persona Non Grata
Who do you think is unfairly cast as persona non grata today? Read today’s post, then leave a comment to join this dialogue.
Do the unwelcome guests in your mind really make your writing better somehow, or more authentic? Does unearthed trauma and rage and depression really allow for more engaging and relatable work to consume? Or is that a fairy tale we’ve all been fed by relentless algorithms and long-gone intelligentsia? And a dangerous one at that.
What if consuming someone else’s pain only makes you hurt more, after that split second you feel seen and less alone when you initially start reading about it? What if all the rage bait we’re consuming really makes us feel more… ragey? Especially if there isn’t even a sentence or two in what we’re reading or consuming that brings us together or connects us to the writer’s experience more authentically at some point— basically when the writing is simply an inciting performance with nothing of lasting value to add once its figurative curtain has closed.
What am I getting at?
Well, it used to be that a writer became ‘persona non grata’ when they shared those repressed demons of their minds, all those thoughts and feelings that made them ‘mysterious’ or ‘surprising’ or ‘sexy’ or alluring and uncomfortably more relatable. But now we live in a world where such demons are plentiful, and instant responses and reactions and superficial ‘hot takes’ are devoured at lightning speed, making the nuanced and thoughtful writer the new persona non grata.
Now a lot of writing is infused with performative rage and trauma, while those who think critically and search for common human threads and a glimmer of warmth in the current human condition aren’t even included in the polemic ‘woke’ category. Instead, they are dismissed outright by influencers and some crumbling intellectual establishments as naive or foolish or uncaring or uninformed, etc.
The writers who want to write about love and perseverance and finding common ground with strangers and new paths forward and innovative ways of solving centuries’-old problems and unexpected friendship and hope *gasp* are the outcasts now. Not the other way around.
Those who write about trauma and what they’re angry about are a dime a dozen at the moment. And their content will be consumed voraciously, for a moment, as it has a short shelf life and is part of a constant deluge that is monotonous yet difficult and unrewarding to parse.
But you tell me. What does a world full of performative, superficial rage bait get us? What does a world full of never-ending languishing misery get us? What does a world full of lackluster yet consistent reminders of real problems without real efforts to find solutions get us? What does a world full of pointed fingers full of blame without patience and courage and accountability and creativity get us? …
Right now, I think I would rather be persona non grata than the alternative, because frankly, I’m exhausted. All the rage and misery out there just exhaust me, especially when people don’t even think about what they write anymore, or care about what they’re really saying and who reads what they write, as long as they get faceless likes and followers— as if the words we write aren’t more powerful than anything else we have access to, any day of the week, anywhere in the world.
I want to read more stories that help me find my way out of misery, not those that keep me stuck in it endlessly. I don’t want to voyeuristically consume others’ feigned or realized trauma without being reminded how another human’s real ability to overcome hardships and suffering can connect me to them or others. I want to read stories that tell me how the world could be if we felt inspired and more hopeful. I could keep going, but I’ll leave my thoughts there for the day.
This post probably makes me the persona non grata of which I write about today. Which is a lot less fun and cool than it sounds, trust me— to always feel like your writing, and view of the world, is on the inside looking out, instead of the outside looking in…
But let’s see what my writing brings tomorrow…
Who do you think society unreasonably deems persona non grata?
Leave a comment to join this dialogue.
© This work is not available for artificial intelligence (AI) training. All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.
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