The pencil is mightier than the sword

I received some green pencils in the post today, with these words emblazoned in gold lettering:

I LOVE JANET FRAME

I liked them at first, until I became aware of their potential to promote crass exploitations of Janet Frame's life rather than Janet Frame's own work.

One of my concerns about such a piece of merchandise, is that there is a danger, in sentimentalising a mythical "Janet Frame", of sidelining the real Janet Frame, who can only be known by reading her own work.

As Basho said: "If you want to know the pine, go to the pine, or if you want to know the bamboo, go to the bamboo."

So I'd rather have seen these words:

I LOVE READING JANET FRAME