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A lack of imagination

Random Thoughts
I read a lot of stuff from serious fiction all the way to what is unflatteringly described as "chick-lit" (mostly by soulless guys but we'll let that one pass)
One trend in the latter genre is to write stuff that looks airy and trendy and says pretty much nothing at all. Into this genre arrives the latest episode of plagiarism by a harvard student no less.
What kind of state is this country's education in when English majors who're presumably preparing for a world of writing in some form or the other don't have enough original words in their heads that they must resort to mass copying from already not so wonderful prose? Paragraphs just lifted with altered words scattered about do not orginal fiction make. It is bad enough that we have to deal with supposed brilliant pieces of prose like "devil wears Prada" ... glorifications of a self-preoccupied generation devoted to inane hobbies... oh like buying shoes and the latest designer wear!!!! Does observation of humankind afford only cheap imitations as an option to the true creative process? Is it so hard for a harvard grad to find unique words to describe her feelings/thoughts? It is getting rarer and rarer to find someone who speaks with an original voice let alone an original thought. I'll let you now when I find one!!!

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