In her column for The Book Standard, Jessa Crispin comments on Dave Eggers‘ recent criticism of Neal Pollack and Eggers’ statement in that criticism that everyone can write a book and “Anyone pissing in the very small and fragile ecosystem that is the literary world is mucking it up for everyone — and sending a very poor message to the next generation.” Crispin observes, “Just about everyone in the ‘literary world’ remembers the firestorm that followed The Believer‘s manifesto, declaring that when you give a writer a bad review, you hurt people’s feelings. Eggers just upped the ante, now declaring that if you give someone a bad review, you are HURTING THE CHILDREN.” What’s more, she says, “Building a wall around writers and saying that all of them are equal is just delusional. Not everyone should write a book. And not everyone who does write a book is deserving of praise, as if the literary community is one big Special Olympics. That’s not interesting, and it’s not how you foster growth.”