Alice Munro’s Fall from Grace

In this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alex Schwartz discuss the recent revelations about Alice Munro's personal life, specifically the sexual abuse of her daughter by Munro's second husband and Munro's decision to stay with her husband. They grapple with how these revelations impact their understanding and appreciation of Munro's work, which often explores themes of violence against women and familial secrets. They are joined by Jiayang Fan, a Munro scholar, who shares her personal connection to Munro's stories and the challenges she faces teaching Munro's work in light of these revelations. The conversation extends to broader questions about how to reconcile admiration for an artist's work with knowledge of their problematic behavior, referencing examples like R. Kelly, Woody Allen, and Saul Bellow, and explores the concept of "cancel culture" and the changing ways in which audiences engage with art created by morally objectionable figures.