On Criticism

The defining aspect of a demi-puppet is panic at the idea of contention and criticism. They want the ship of literature to float along smoothly-- even thogh it's dead in the water and appears to be sinking. No S.O.S. signals wanted by this gang! Lit's overseers are as clueless as the captain of the Titanic. Like him, their chief concern is to not alarm the rich people.

And so, demi-puppets lock arms and construct human barricades around isolated literary darlings like Jonathan Franzen and Rick Moody. May no stray word of dissent arise to touch them in any way! Like Rick Moody at the Philadelphia library, the lit-aristocrats surround themselves with security to insulate themselves from nothing more than questions and debate!

Writers fleeing from questions and debate? They miss the point of literature's existence-- to cause people to question and think. (Thinking allowed only through strict regulation in the lit-world.)

This blog welcomes questions (especially when they come from real people). Most feedback received, yes, from anonymous lunatics like "Bam Bam" or Scott McLemee's alter-ego, is hysterical and without much sense. I enjoy the comments regardless-- and continue hoping the ULA's skeptics will someday obtain brains.

(After the July 16th Philly show I intend to be more aggressive in seeking out public debate about the condition of literature-- even if I have to enter snobby realms like "Jules Bistro" to provoke it.)