Do I Write for an Audience?

Abstract

Faced with the question “whom are you writing for?” I would have to say, no specific audience. But I do not want to create an audience either, a goal that for a scholar-critic would be unachievable anyway. I have neither written a textbook for students nor promulgated any partisan interest, for I have no political agenda. Furthermore, I have always painstakingly avoided playing up to fashion. Do I then write for my peers only? If not, what is the purpose of my scholarly engagement? There is no doubt that one would like to have readers. However. does an intended readership set the guidelines, or does one want to communicate something to potential readers? Audience-related writing is to a large extent conditioned by what one assumes to be adequate, beneficial, opportune, necessary, advantageous, and also enlightening for those whom one addresses. This holds true even if the appeal is critical because, more often than not, criticism is meant to make the audience aware of what they can do to improve their situation. Thus audience-related writing is basically affirmative, and affirmation presupposes an indisputable knowledge to be transmitted. I am not one of those critics who set out to provide corroborative evidence for special causes, such as nowadays often motivate politically inspired audiences.