Zadie Smith tells Dua Lipa inequality has made culture clashes feel ‘existential’
Summary
Novelist Zadie Smith told Dua Lipa that rising inequality and the decline of public services have made cultural differences feel more threatening. At a London literature festival, Smith also reflected on multiculturalism, her novel “White Teeth” and the value of public education, health care and literary criticism.Key Facts
- Smith linked sharper divisions in Britain to inequality, unemployment and problems with housing, schools and hospitals.
- She said that when people have secure housing and access to health care, differences can feel interesting rather than existential.
- Smith said her state education helped her communicate with people from different backgrounds.
- She argued that people could look back to the social democracy of earlier decades while rejecting the era’s racial prejudice and LGBTQ+ discrimination.
- Smith began writing “White Teeth” at 21 and published it at 24 in 2000.
- She said she finished the novel on Valentine’s Day after a breakup and then went out clubbing.
- Smith called literary criticism essential because it helps develop taste.
- The Southbank Centre’s London literature festival runs through 1 November.
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