Semiserious to Probably Unserious Q
What are 3 literary journals that you feel would “change your life” if you were published in them? Do you believe your life could be changed by publishing a writing? Does it matter?
Uncategorized / 667 Comments
June 9th, 2009 / 11:20 pm
June 9th, 2009 / 11:20 pm
DOES ANYONE EVER THINK “I AM THE SHIT” AFTER WRITING SOMETHING OR GETTING SOMETHING PUBLISHED?
at the risk of eliciting the charge of “stupidest ever” from justin taylor, i realized today that i have never felt like i was the shit for having done anything. granted, i am assuredly a piece of shit, and not at all successful in some ways, but has anything you’ve done made you think, “i am the shit?” usually, if i get something published this is what happens: i go “hell yeah” in my head while nodding, and then i think “wait, am i really happy?” then the feeling is gone. is it good to think, “i am the shit?” or is it bad? does it help you or does it hurt you? i don’t mean these questions as hypotheticals, i mean, how do you the reader feel. if you don’t want to discuss that, then you can use the comments sections to demean me. oh wait, i remember this one time i was at a gym and i pointed to a garbage can and said to the person next to me, “check this out.” then i punted a football right into the garbage can. i definitely thought, “i am the shit” after that. do you feel more like the shit when you are in a print publication? is it the people also in the publication? is it the editor? the journal?
Booklyfe 2
Literary Multiplier / Critical Mass
And here’s Norman Lock on small presses & print vs. digital, via Eugene Lim’s wonderful blog.
A select bit from Norman, and my thoughts:
…To acknowledge such a limitation is to accept a reduced role for the writer. I do not believe that what I write can change the world or the people in it. I don’t believe that anything written by a contemporary literary artist has that power over a mass audience. There are some who believe they can restructure consciousness using language and narratives that defy convention. But their visionary writing will scarcely be read by the people most in need of a transformed consciousness. The only work that has power to engage a mass audience is sentimental (which is a lie) or pornographic (which is also a lie, though perhaps a more entertaining one). We can rue this. We can set down the causes to mainstream publishing or to a degeneration in popular taste and appreciation that have little to do with literacy. But we can and should seek out our own margin and make our literature there.
Today in Big Publishing’s Dying Shudder
Oh, hey! Another editor has managed to convince his bosses that his internet addiction is not a huge drain on company time and bandwidth by getting a freely accessed photo blog turned into a book!
Harper Big Wig into phone: Nelson? Get into my office. Now.
Nelson, entering: Yes boss?
HBW: Nelson, I don’t know if you are aware of this, but all the office computers now have spyware on them. According to our records, you spent all of last week surfing the internet.
N: Uh. Well, sure. I was…doing…research?
HBW: Research? Why weren’t you reading the slush pile? Did you find anything?
N: [Pause.]
HBW: Well?
N: A blog with pictures of fried foods?
HBW: Nelson, you’ve done it again! Let’s get a contract drawn up.
And scene.
Keep throwing shit against the wall, fellas. Something is bound to stick.