Letter to HTMLGIANT
May 08
web blake butler, HTMLGiant, jereme dean, jimmy chen, roxane gay 14 Comments
I am an angry person.
It’s taken me years to put myself together.
It’s taken more years to realize that I’m angry.
I’m working on it.
Writers Don’t Write About Work Anymore Because They Don’t Work Anymore Or Something
Mar 23
Literature blake butler, jimmy chen, labor, lit drift, roxane gay, scott mclanahan, sweat, the jungle, the new york times, truman capote, upton sinclair, work, writing 3 Comments
There isn’t much interesting about being a professor or whatever sweatless position most writers of literary fiction inhabit. I’ve 
always felt that sweating for my dinner freed up my mind to write about the day later. Of course these days, being a government employee, I rarely do any such thing, and it’s been fucking murder on my creativity. Before going on, it’s important to annotate the previous and fomenting writings on this topic: this snippet at Lit Drift and this essay in the New York Times. I want to take a moment to clarify that to say “at” is appropriate when speaking of a website, and to say “in” is appropriate when speaking of a newspaper, but to use them interchangeably should probably only be done when you’re being funny. And you’re not very funny.
Now, now, moving on.
World Power Made Easy
Feb 28
Literature, writing Artifice Magazine, Derek Phillips, Genes, jubilat, Language, roxane gay, Shane Book, Word Power Made Easy, World Power 4 Comments
Art as a being. A creative entity intangible and disenchanted with its ethereality. Its need to move from the ethereal to the physical, somehow, through whatever means necessary. Language. Breakdown: credulous comes from Latin, credo, to believe, the same root found in credit (if people believe in your honesty, they will extend credit to you; they will credit what you say)*. –Ous usually indicates full of, so credulous means full of believingness. Words are in our body— the lingual representation of something unaffixed. Joseph Campbell and the Gregorian monk chants, the Ohm— from open to closed sound— More
Opening the Flood Gates
Feb 27
Publishing fruitless debates, guidelines, pank magazine, roxane gay, submissions 18 Comments
Pank has done away with submission guidelines. I’m not sure how long they’ve had a submission manager, but apparently their only real guideline anymore is that you must use the manager.
I won’t be doing away with our guidelines anytime too soon. They’re pretty slim. I like the guidelines we’ve got at GwI, but those can be changed if the other associates over-rule me. I think the guidelines Taylor Durden has set forth at Thirst For Fire are also fair. I don’t see anything wrong Josh Kleinberg’s at slingshot, either, while we’re on the subject. They all seem fairly flexible and reasonable. And, after all, they’re still called “guidelines.” That’s not the strictest of terms–we’d call them “requirements” otherwise. There are always exceptions. Of course I always consider people who adhere to the guidelines before I consider those who do not, but I will step off my high horse now and then.
