Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Kostelanetz the Dissenter

I want to give a quick nod to one of the true pioneers of the kind of thing the ULA does, Richard Kostelanetz, who was writing kick-ass essays and reviews taking the lit world to task back in the 60s and 70s. Then he was a lone voice in the wilderness-- and paid a price for it, having a promising writing career limited because he spoke truths about how the world of writing and publishing operates. Now, thirty years later, the lit world is starting to catch up to him, opening up the closed doors of American literature through unstoppable outlets like zeens and the Internet, including the ULA fan site and this blog.

I have one of Richard's books, CRIMES OF THE CULTURE, which contains amazing and revealing essays about grants, magazines, college teaching, copyrights, Poets & Writers, NY REVIEW OF BOOKS, and much more. It may still be available through Autonomedia. Every writer should have it!

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