Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Post Mortem II

THE BOTTOM LINE about the literary rebellion is the way it revealed the intolerance of the high priests of the literary mainstream.

When we exposed blatant cronyism, corruption, and plagiarism there was no attempt by the individuals involved to admit mistakes, return ill-gotten monies, and reform the mechanisms of the system. Instead, TO THIS DAY, there's been denial and stonewalling. There was, by the bulk of the lit community, including from many lit-bloggers, embrace of the corruption, and attacks upon the whistle blowers; accompanied by rationalizations and lies; accomplished in the most underhanded and cowardly way. Behind the reaction were some of the richest and most pampered members of the literary community.

This is the reality. This is the truth of the matter. This is the story which should be told and remembered; the literary history. It's the story of democracy against aristocracy. It's the story of the failure of an art to accept disagreement and dissent; of its unwillingness to reform itself. It's the story of the monopolization of culture, the insularity, snobbery, and closed-mindedness of establishment literature centered in the privileged salons of New York.

Have I made mistakes? Yes, tons of mistakes, as I wrestled with venomous ghosts around me on all sides.

The principle-- the necessity-- of the literary revolution remains.

7 comments:

FDW said...

Perhaps this is not dominoe that needs to be pushed over. To start the chain reaction where all the upstood dominoes begin to fall as you so aptly put it KING over the years.
There is a problem in the Jim Crow South but still very much the East Coast which can be believed as very rife and exposed if not absolutely very much in need to be not only resisted but rebelled against by instigators very much of the profile of the underground literary revolutionaries such as your own and those with the ability and enthusiasm of your ilk.
Namely a corrupt and dare I say traitorous(regarding citizens' due process of law and right to a fair trial and hearing where property is siezed and dangerous conspiracies are forged behing closed doors)court system including a handful of malicious lawyers.
Very shortly a but passionate attempt to drag these criminals of privilege into the public light and rile up that public against this abomination, mostly and out of necessity through the power of "having words", alternative independent press, and what you might see and refer to as none other than the "gutter press".
You will be kept inform accordingly.

Respectively..........

Literary Sleuth said...

Wow, comments!

If anyone who has followd this blog would like to know who King Wenclas thinks "Harland" is, drop me a line:

literarysleuth@gmail.com

You can also figure it out pretty easily on your own, but I might be able to save you a few minutes on Google.

King Wenclas said...

But the question is not what I think, but who Harland IS.
I've been mentally burnt the last couple months . . . it's very possible I've made a mistake. I hope so.
Harland has run off regardless, not to return. . . .
Puppets and masks--
I'll be pondering things in my literary mystery story.

none-of-yr-business said...

"Run off regardless?" You shut down comments on your own blog, proclaiming that you knew for sure who this guy was (without, of course, naming him, or offering any kind of proof) and now are muttering that oops, you might be wrong? Meanwhile accusing others of "intolerance?"

Harland said...

I am Spartacus!

Wred Fright said...

Those of you who miss commenting on the King's blog are welcome to comment on my blog at http://wredfright.blogspot.com My new novel's being serialized there, and so far as I can tell only Internet spiders are reading it. They love it probably, but so far they haven't left any comments, since they're not human. If this is truly King's last post here, it is the end of an era! This was a lively blog!

Karl Wenclas said...

Re Spartacus: An analogy which in this case is particularly and egregiously inapt. It shows the duplicity, and the lack of self-knowledge, of lit's ruling elites.
This character, a member of lit's ruling class (or proxy of same) is more analagous to wealthy plutocrat Crassus, who crucified Spartacus and his gang. Crassus represented nascent Empire; in his decadence and corruption embodying everything wrong with the concept; as "Harland" here represents literary Empire.
To Wred: Will this blog close for good? I don't know. I badly need a break from all things literary, and will take it, whether for three months, three years, or for good. If these ghosts who've been posting here, and attacking me in other areas, aren't in fact undergrounders, then I'll feel free to someday return-- with the proviso that my back be fully protected. After all, I've been usually the guy in the arena. . . .
(I think the behavior of Harland and Company demonstrates that peace with their side isn't possible. They don't believe it is-- their maliciousness has convinced me of this point of view. Study the Punic Wars. The Carthaginians were given no choice but to be destroyed. This is the position the lit underground faces and indeed has always faced. Monopoly has no conscience, no scruples, no merccy.)