“What is odd is not that so many of the iconic news photos of the past, including some of the best-remembered pictures from the Second World War, appear to have been staged. It is that we are surprised to learn they were staged and always disappointed.”

American writer and critic

Susan Sontag was an American writer and critic. She worked mainly in essays, and also wrote novels. Her first major work was the essay "Notes on 'Camp'" in 1964. She is best known for critical books such as Against Interpretation, On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, and Regarding the Pain of Others, as well as the short story "The Way We Live Now" and the novels The Volcano Lover and In America. Her work often explored culture, images, and the experience of illness and suffering.