The media can do that, whether authors, poets, actors, directors, or politicians, the media and academia can elevate mediocrity into enduring fame and success, even keeping it alive for generations.
But then, you judge his works on your own personal view, but the millions that love his works are just a media blitz? When I got through reading “The Old Man and the Sea” I really enjoyed it and didn’t really give a damn what the critics or media said about it one way or the other. I’m sure the other millions that read it felt the same way.