The prevailing conventions of a particular time has maligned some great writers. Their writing was excellent; they didn't follow conventions of their time.
Beat writer Jack Kerouac wrote in a spontaneous style that went against the 1950s way of writing. Poet Robert Hayden didn't receive the notoriety he should have because he wrote during the rise of black militancy. Other black authors felt that he should do the same, but chose not to. Hayden wanted to be known as a poet, not just a black poet. Herman Melville novels didn't sell but he's acknowledged as one of America's greatest writers. He wrote much about the sea and his adventures but his style of writing was not in vogue.
Thinking about it, some of my favorite authors were ones who were marginalized and criticized. Writing isn't about conventions, it's the author share a part of him/ herself to a greater audience.
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