The literary world is made up of second-rate writers who write about other second-rate writers.

The wording appears in David Halberstam’s 1993 book about the United States in the 1950s while he is describing Mickey Spillane’s contempt for literary critics and the broader literary establishment. Halberstam presents it as a summary of Spillane’s attitude rather than as a verbatim line spoken by Spillane.

It frames the literary establishment as a closed loop in which writers who are not especially successful or admired spend their energy evaluating and discussing similarly minor figures, implying envy toward popular “winners” and a bias against commercial success.

The literary world is made of second rate writers writing about other second rate writers.