Conformist Literature; Institutionalized Lit; Literature of the Past: Some of the designations for affairs like this which would be more truthful advertising! ("How to Play the Game Like Everyone Else"??)
Um, no King, that's not the case. Some local writers, some of whom teach, are going to read from their work, talk about craft, answer questions. I'll be one of them. Anyone who thinks my new novel Mean Martin Manning, which I'll be reading from at WoW on Tuesday, is conformist, doesn't know what the word means. The same is true of my publisher--couldn't be less institutionalized. I can't speak for all of the other event's readers and panelists, but most of the ones I know something about are just writers genuinely interested in their craft. They have widely different degrees of commercial or critical success -- a few are students trying out their best work on a live audience for the first time, some are published novelists or poets, and a couple are people who just write fiction or poetry because they love to, and don't try to publish it at all (one or two are in unrelated fields). They have nothing to gain, professionally, by reading their writing to a bunch of students and others who stop by. They just think it would be fun to see how people respond to their creative work. Some game.
A curious post, Scott, because you are playing the game, playing it by and within the rules, in that you have an MFA and also teach Creative Writing. You disagree, but some of us out here believe these programs have led only to unending mediocrity. (Depends on one's perspective, I guess.) And what place is there for those writers outside the bureacracies, the institutions? I note that of Granta's "Best" Young American Novelists, EVERY ONE of them is a graduate of some MFA program or other. (Most of them from privileged schools.) This sounds to me like conformity-- like the increasing professionalization of literature in this country, toward the direction that one will need to be certified to be considered a creative writer. (As balance we have zeens and the rise of the blogosphere.) On top of this we have studies showing that entering college freshmen are from increasingly more affluent backgrounds (not to mention those who graduate with Masters) and it seems that large segments of the population aren't being represented by what is known as literature today. But good luck with your reading.
Conformist Literature; Institutionalized Lit;
ReplyDeleteLiterature of the Past:
Some of the designations for affairs like this which would be more truthful advertising!
("How to Play the Game Like Everyone Else"??)
Um, no King, that's not the case. Some local writers, some of whom teach, are going to read from their work, talk about craft, answer questions. I'll be one of them. Anyone who thinks my new novel Mean Martin Manning, which I'll be reading from at WoW on Tuesday, is conformist, doesn't know what the word means. The same is true of my publisher--couldn't be less institutionalized. I can't speak for all of the other event's readers and panelists, but most of the ones I know something about are just writers genuinely interested in their craft. They have widely different degrees of commercial or critical success -- a few are students trying out their best work on a live audience for the first time, some are published novelists or poets, and a couple are people who just write fiction or poetry because they love to, and don't try to publish it at all (one or two are in unrelated fields). They have nothing to gain, professionally, by reading their writing to a bunch of students and others who stop by. They just think it would be fun to see how people respond to their creative work. Some game.
ReplyDeleteA curious post, Scott, because you are playing the game, playing it by and within the rules, in that you have an MFA and also teach Creative Writing. You disagree, but some of us out here believe these programs have led only to unending mediocrity. (Depends on one's perspective, I guess.)
ReplyDeleteAnd what place is there for those writers outside the bureacracies, the institutions?
I note that of Granta's "Best" Young American Novelists, EVERY ONE of them is a graduate of some MFA program or other. (Most of them from privileged schools.)
This sounds to me like conformity-- like the increasing professionalization of literature in this country, toward the direction that one will need to be certified to be considered a creative writer. (As balance we have zeens and the rise of the blogosphere.)
On top of this we have studies showing that entering college freshmen are from increasingly more affluent backgrounds (not to mention those who graduate with Masters) and it seems that large segments of the population aren't being represented by what is known as literature today.
But good luck with your reading.