New Arts Journalism: What it Do? (Part Two)

By cobwebsandstrange on 12/10/09 6:52pm
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Integration of the Arts + Connections

In the same way that journalists and critiques will grow their audience and benefit their own writing from referencing specific cultures and histories, it’s as important to understand each disparate branch of the arts as a singular whole. There are concrete differences between painting, playing guitar and editing film together, but in each of those endeavors – if the work is conceived as art and not a way to simply make a dollar - the creator will have an aesthetic end in mind. Crafting an object or product to be as beautiful as possible is the hallmark of any successful art object – writing included.

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New Arts Journalism: What it Do? (Part One)

By cobwebsandstrange on 12/10/09 6:44pm
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Commentary/Criticism + Artful Writing

The largest problem facing arts writing presently is that commentary and criticism have been distanced from the practice of artful prose. Instead of focusing on the craft of properly figured phrases today a form of personal essay has crept into alternative weeklies across the country. Subsequent to taking over the music section of Seattle’s the Stranger, Eric Grandy and his column, “Fucking in the Streets,” grant its Seattle readership smug, insider lingo and common place language.

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Art House Literary Project

By sparklyscotty on 12/7/09 11:15am
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If you are searching for a new experimental writing project after NaNoWriMo, then check out this new literary exhibition being put together by Art House.  Art House is a national  co-operative of artists that bring together talent from around the world to collaborate on a wide variety of projects.  This is the first exhibition that has a focus on text, and looks to be an exciting venture.  To take part all you have to do is register on the site and pay an $18 entry fee.  This will get you a lined Moleskin notebook and a designated theme.  The theme is the only part of the project that is dictated, and after that yo

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If You Are Blaming Your Tools... Get New Ones!

By sparklyscotty on 12/2/09 9:29am
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Does the way that you write affect what you write?  Do you write better when at your laptop?  Or perhaps when you take your favorite pen to paper? Do you have a particular notebook that helps you to feel inspired?  The concept of the tools that you use to create affecting the creative process has certainly boosted the reputation of brands such as Moleskin and Parker.  Some writers even cling to their writing habits in an almost superstitious way, some locking themselves in the bathroom or refusing to write with anything other than a single color of pen.

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Literary Tattoos

By sparklyscotty on 12/1/09 12:00am
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Is there a higher form of flattery than to see your words or ideas permanently inked on someone's body? Love 'em or hate 'em tattoos have always had deep significance to the wearer.  As their popularity has become more mainstream, with approximately one in six Americans now "inked", so too has the subject matter with many people choosing to have tattoos of quotes or elements from their favorite books.

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The Evergrowing English Language

By sparklyscotty on 11/30/09 7:31am
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Hot on the heels of the announcement that a Facebook term (unfriend) has been awarded Word of the Year for 2009 by the New Oxford American Dictionary comes another recognition of social media lexicon.  The buzzword this time is "Twitter", which scooped the number one spot on the Global Language Trends list of the most popular words for 2009.  The micro blogging platform beat out competitors "Obama," "H1N1" and "Stimulus".  Although perhaps a little disturbing that a social media platform has been talked about more than global leaders, epidemics and financial collapse, the results certainly illustrate what topics have dominated conversation both on and offline during the year.

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Harlan Ellison Rant: Pay the Writer [cursing]

By lisala on 11/25/09 6:20pm
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Harlequin Horizons: A New Subsidy Press, and a Bad Idea (Part I)

By lisala on 11/19/09 3:29pm
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Harlequin Enterprises, one of the ten largest international publishers in the world, a subsidiary of Torstar, has launched a new subsidy publisher under the name Harlequin Horizons. This is horrible news for current Harlequin authors, since it devalues the publisher's brand, and worse news for the naive writers who will be taken in by the association of the Harlequin name with a business that exists to exploit naive authors. In case you're not sure what a subsidy publisher is, here's a definition:

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Harlequin Horizons: A New Subsidy Press, and a Bad Idea (Part II)

By lisala on 11/19/09 3:25pm
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I've already written about the new subsidy publisher launched by Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Horizons, and explained why using a fee-charging publisher makes no sense here. Now I'd like to explain why publishing with Harlequin Horizons could potentially be damaging to authors and their income.

What Harlequin is doing with Harlequin Horizons is so heinous that the Romance Writers of America has removed Harlequin Enterprises eligibility as an approved publisher.

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Word War Over Unfriend

By sparklyscotty on 11/19/09 9:54am
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And the Word of the Year for 2009 from the New Oxford American Dictionary is....(drumroll, please)... unfriend.  A slightly mangled form of a word that has not been commonly used as a verb since ye olden days of Shakespeare and the like, but which has been made hugely popular by social media sites such as Facebook.  "Unfriend" wasn't the only new communication term to be nominated, with hashtag (a way of monitoring specific topics on Twitter) and sexting (a sexually explicit conversation via mobile phone texts) both being considered.

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