Do art and politics belong together? It’s an old debate that
still raises hackles in the contemporary art scene. Does tackling
politics somehow lessen the value of a work of art? Absolutely not,
says T. Coraghessan Boyle, a prolific author who has won numerous
awards and fellowships, including the PEN/Faulkner Award and a
Guggenheim Fellowship.
In a recent interview with Marilyn Bauer of Environmental
News Network, Boyle talks about his latest novel, A
Friend of the Earth, which takes an unapologetic look at the
negative impact of environmental trends. The book, set partly in
the year 2025, depicts a world ravaged by global warming, harvested
forests, and a ballooning human population.
‘I’m just having some black fun with who we are now,’ Boyle offers,
‘but projecting it a little into the future–all the habitat and
loss of creatures, the destruction of the forests and the denuding
of the oceans.’
For the real world, Boyle predicts nothing short of an ecological
Armageddon. ‘No matter what we do it’s over,’ he says. ‘I don’t
think it’s going to happen in 25 years. It will be a degradation of
everything that makes life worth living. It’s not going to be Mad
Max and a bunch of dirt and people fighting tattooed gangs for gas.
Fifty years from now there will be a lot fewer things left and a
lot more mini-malls if the whole thing doesn’t collapse
entirely.’
Although his comments display an almost nihilistic attitude toward
the ecosystem, Boyle becomes quite emotional about the
deterioration of the environment. ‘I’ve been depressed for years,’
he reveals. ‘When I go on tour, we don’t have Q & As anymore.
Now we pass out hankies, cry and go home.’
–Anjula
Razdan
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