This philistinism of interpretation is more rife in literature than in any other art. For decades now, literary critics have understood it to be their task to translate the elements of the poem or play or novel or story into something else. Sometimes a writer will be so uneasy before the naked power of his art that he will install within the work itself - albeit with a little shyness, a touch of the good taste of irony - the clear and explicit interpretation of it. Thomas Mann is an example of such an overcooperative author. In the case of more stubborn authors, the critic is only too happy to perform the job.

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Ellen Lee accused Sontag of plagiarism when Lee discovered at least twelve passages in In America that were similar to or copied from passages in four other books about Helena Modjeska without attribution. The last two novels were set in the past which Sontag said gave her greater freedom to write in the polyphonic voice. She elevated Camp to the status of recognition with her widely-read 1964 essay Notes on 'Camp' which accepted Art as including common absurd and burlesque themes.

". Sontag was active in writing and speaking about or travelling to areas of conflict including during the Vietnam War and the Siege of Sarajevo. Beginning with the publication of her 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'" Sontag became an international cultural and intellectual celebrity.