Archive for the ‘Literary News’ Category
Entry 902 — the “Pleruser”
Thursday, October 25th, 2012
Do I have a good word, finally, after forty years, for “one who does more than read a poem” in “pleruser?” I like it now, but I’ve liked probably thirty or more previous of my attempts to get a better word than my “aesthcipient” for engage a work of art fully, in general, and for not just reading but viewing a visual poem, in particular. pluhr ROO zuhr. From “peruser” and “PLuRal.” Sibling: “plerusal.”
Another new coinage, but probably just an ad hoc term is “poelectricrity,” which is what a poem has to have to be major. It comes from my latest idea about a poem that it has three contents, one of them its elecrical content. More on that when (and if) I get the essay I’m writing about it–one paragraph done so far–finished.
I’m learning of interesting behind-the-scenes quiet differences of opinion about the Fantagraphic anthology, by the way. Two friends having mixed views of it, or worse; an unnamed acquaintance of one of them sounding as if he thinks very little of it. I consider it excellent–which doesn’t mean there aren’t specimens in it I’m not too fond of, although I’ve seen nothing in it that I think doesn’t deserve to be in it. I’m not sure which would be better for the field–a no-holds-barred between those for it and those against it, or a solidity of all involved in the field it covers against the Establishment, it the latter comes out in opposition to it, as I hope it will. Probably the best thing for now is to await further developments in the BigWorld.
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Entry 788 — Poets & Writers Questionnaire
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
Here it is:
1. Yes, I am interested in participating in either a phone interview (30 minutes) or focus group (90 minutes) or both
2. Please tell us what you write. Poetry, Fiction
3. Do you write genre fiction? Yes
4. If you write genre fiction, please indicate which type. Science Fiction
5. Are you a translator? No
6. Do you write books for children?
7. Do you write books for young adults? Not yet
8. Have you published a book? Yes
9. If you’ve published one or more books, how were they published?
Both Published by a publisher and Self-published
10. Would you be willing to participate in a focus group in Manhattan? Could not afford to
11. Would you be willing to participate in a focus group in downtown Los Angeles.? Could not afford to
12. Do you use Google+ Hangouts? No (Don’t know what these are.)
13. Would you be willing to participate in a virtual focus group using Google+ Hangouts? Don’t know what it is.
14. On weekdays, what time of day would be best for you to participate in a focus group? Any time
15. Do you subscribe to Poets & Writers Magazine? No
16. Do you subscribe to our e-newsletter? No
17. Have you received payment from Poets & Writers for a reading you’ve given or a workshop you’ve conducted? That’s a laugh.
18. Are you listed in our Directory of Poets & Writers? Yes
19. Do you participate in our online Speakeasy? No
20. Your age? Over 65
21. Your ethnic background? White, not Hispanic
22. Your gender? Male
23. Please provide your name, email address and information on where you live. Provided
I find nothing in it to indicate Poets & Writers has a genuine interest in finding out what it can do to help poets and writers. They should, at the very least, have someone answering their questionnaire tell how he rates their magazine from 1 for I think it very bad to 5 for I think it very good, to be sure of getting a few people who could actually help them do what they say they want to do. They should ask for comments, too. Such as a yes/no question about whether the answerer has ever published any kind of opinion piece on the state of literature in America, with a follow-up determining how often he has, if he has. More specific question on the kind of poetry done would help–a list of the Wilshberian poetries and “other.” If I had time, I’m sure I could think of other good questions. The results of P&W’s effort to improve should be amusing.
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Entry 524 — The Latest Nobel Laureate
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Entry 476 — Bad News
Monday, August 1st, 2011
Just last night I heard of Len Fulton’s death from Karl Kempton. A huge loss to me personally, and to the larger world. What small visibility I have as a critic is due almost entirely to him. What small visibility our country’s best writers have is due in large part to him, too–due to his support of the small press and micro-press for so long. (His American Odyssey, a Bookselling Travelogue, which is about his beginnings in his vocation, is still entertainingly and informativelyl worth reading.)
I never met him personally–or even talked to him on the phone. But we exchanged a lot of notes over the twenty years or so that I knew him. He was always upbeat and supportive. In his last note to me (this June), he wished me luck with my hip, which I’d just written him I was going to have replaced.
I was amused to hear that he’d been a life-long fan of the baseball Giants–and saddened that I hadn’t shared his happiness for them when they won the world series last year. I’d rooted for them when they were the New York Giants, then for a while after they abandoned their New Jersey, New York and Connecticut fans, but only because of my emotional investment in their players. I eventually dropped them for the Mets. I disliked them (and the Dodgers) for many years but last year they were my team–I liked their players and felt the organization had been punished long enough for having skipped out. Now that I find they won one for Len, I’m even more for them!
I hope he can be replaced enough to allow Dustbooks to continue. He certainly won’t be replaced enough to satisfy any of the many who will miss him.