Anthony Anaxagorou, a British Cypriot poet who became one of its Open Fellows last year, said the RLS “has traditionally welcomed writers who might not have met the society’s narrower criteria. I’m glad it turned out that way,” he told me. It is important to note that these gestures should never seem tokenistic, and that it is the quality of the work that counts, but that the writer’s social class, race, and gender have not influenced previous decisions. It is wrong to assume that. ”
Novelist Larin Paul, the daughter of Indian immigrants, agrees: Like the best of this country, it’s proudly historic and boldly progressive. ”
However, novelist Philip Hensher, who has been a member of the FRSL since 1998, believes the homogeneity of the former RSL has been exaggerated. VS Naipaul he was a fellow in 1962.and they accomplished a lot [in the past] Open your heart and reach out, but they never did. [before] It was about lowering qualification standards. ”
The criteria for selecting fellows has indeed changed radically. When Russell T. Davies sat down to write It’s a Sin and Michaela Coel wrote I May Destroy You, they probably didn’t expect it to be on the big screen. That’s what happened in 2022, after the author of “or works for the small screen” was made eligible for election. One researcher I spoke to asked when the British Academy would start awarding prizes to poets.
Novelist Amanda Craig, who was elected as a FRSL member in 2018, admits that the society was “too pale and outdated”, but added that “the rules of the Fellowship have become far too lenient. [election of] Authors with little to no meritorious publishing track record. I don’t think this will benefit serious writers and people who write, who are deeply troubled by the current climate of philistinism and reduction of art. ”