Bloggers, Take Note

Bookslut's Jessa wants more brawling, less bawling in the literary world.

"Not everyone should write a book. And not everyone who does write a book is deserving of praise, as if the literary community is one big Special Olympics. That's not interesting, and it's not how you foster growth."

I'm not sure I want more brawling...maybe more balling BOWLING. Is that in the Olympics?

Comments

jayfish said…
um... i like bowling.
Jeff said…
huh. how about we just say that not everyone with fully fuctioning organs and a will to live should be alive? maybe only witty, interesting people should be allowed on the planet. (goodbye earth!) besides, think of how roomy this place would be.

seriously, i find this perspective really fucking elitist. of course there is a lot of crap out there. our world is practically brimming with shit--bad books, bad movies, bad music...you name it. thankfully, we don't all belong to some mandatory book club. also we have things like opinions and taste. and frankly, i like having stuff to make fun of.

i know—she's mostly talking about the writing "community" coddling these people. is that how it is? i wouldn't know; i'm not a writer. in any case, i'm not saying we should treat writers (or any artist) like five-yr-old art students, but anyone who feels like writing a book should fucking write one. leave it to me to either reject or embrace it.

fucking critics.
Rachel said…
Heh.

Ok, maybe you're not a writer, but have you ever been part of a group of people doing something? Then you know how it gets if people never talk about what works and what doesn't and they pretend everything and everyone is fine...
Jeff said…
I see what you're saying and I understand that problem, but I still don't agree with the sentiment that not everyone should write (or paint or take photos, or whatever). It's elitist to think that only certain people have the ability to do so. Of course not everyone is talented enough to write a great book or make an awesome record. In fact, we all know that relatively very few can pull it off. But, does that mean not everyone should give it a shot?

Life would be extremely boring without failures.

Ok, I'm done.
Rachel said…
Kevin: that IS funny.

Jeff: It would be elitist if she were saying, "Don't bother trying, you're not good enough." But I don't think that's her point.

I believe that everyone should do whatever they want. But know that everything you do has repercussions. And that might be bad reviews, people inexplicably (or with good cause) hating you for doing whatever it was you did, or basically being judged in some way.

I know. I karaoke.

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