What Does It Cost to Support Indy Art?

 Please see the New Pop Lit News post about a film project based on a short story by Tom Ray originally run at New Pop Lit.

A Recent Comment By Me at Lit Mag News

(A response posted July 1, 2025, as a comment to a recent article.)

Re Simian Smith and AI. Like the lit mag mentioned, at New Pop Lit we're firmly against AI, but we try to spell it out: "No AI!! Generated, structured, edited or designed." There are reasons not to use the technology in any way (including the huge amounts of water and electricity consumed in the training of LLM's, and from their use). Another reason: the push for AI by the largest companies on the planet, run by the world's richest individuals-- obscenely wealthy individuals (see the Jeff Bezos wedding)-- is an enormous gamble/money grab. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested in the technology, on the prospect that it will be used by everybody. Once everyone's using it, they'll proceed to monetize it. RIGHT NOW they're not making profits off it. Continuing investment in AI (and AI stocks) by venture capitalists is fueled by one thing: use by individuals, including writers. Chatbot use is strictly monitored, including by investment analysts. Since the damage done to humanity, including to writers and artists, will be substantial, there can be only one stance toward the technology. One mantra: DON'T USE AI!! When you do, in any way, you're enabling the entire enterprise and the forthcoming consequences. Just saying.

Reading Lists

 IN RESPONSE to reading lists appearing in some corners of the literary world-- invariably containing the names of currently approved authors-- I offered my own "Literary Unorthodoxy" list.

In response to my list, New Pop Lit Assistant Editor Kathleen M. Crane then came up with her own, titled "Another Reading List."

(She offered twelve names. Mine only had ten.)

The Populist Moment

 What IS authentic populism?

Authentic populism is not on the right or the left. It involves downsizing our institutions, our culture, and our minds-- moving away from top down Big Box monopolistic thinking. Instead, returning to our roots as a people and a society. Back to our humanity. Right now we live in a fake world, experienced via electronic devices and their artificial digital worlds, created by gigantic trillion-dollar tech companies owned by a handful of hyper-rich individuals. That is today's unfortunate reality, and holds true whatever party of bought-and-paid for politicians is officially in power.

We as a people, a nation, can do way better. But it will involve recapturing the original populist American vision, which existed at least since Lincoln, and can again.

Race to the Bottom

THE PROBLEM WITH CHEAP

The economics of Cheap cramps innovation, contributes to the decline of once-flourishing industries, and threatens our proud heritage of craftsmanship.

The above is a quote by Ellen Shell in a 2010 book titled Cheap, about the race-to-the-bottom taking place in the American economy-- one which has led to a culture of shoddiness.

CHEAP ARTS

I've been thinking, prodded by this book and others like it, that no one has been more affected by this race toward cheap ubiquity than the individual artist. Especially devalued over the past twenty years has been the work of musicians and writers.

Musicians: due to the Internet and streaming. All music is instantly available-- one no longer needs to travel to a store to purchase it, much less attend a live concert.

Writers: due largely to Amazon, which has made virtually every book ever published quickly available with a few clicks of a mouse. Ebooks have only added to the mass of authors and titles, drowning the reader in the number of choices, but also the authors themselves. It's becoming impossible for any one writer or book to stand out. Every writer scrambles for their niche, or really, their micro-niche.

WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?

A number of tactics can be used to reverse this situation. One is to make the work less readily accessible. This includes a return to analog, taking lessons from the comeback of vinyl records, as I discuss here. Another, related tactic is to strongly increase the quality and uniqueness of the individual work, thereby boosting its value. The idea being to make the artwork more of a rare and valued object. A collector's item.

Our zeens, now on sale at New Pop Lit's POP SHOP, are an expression of these tactics. Hand-crafted, available only via snail mail, totally unique, they return the concept of value to the literary realm, amid a universe of the generic and cheap.

ARE BOOKS OBSOLETE?

CAN ZEENS SAVE PRINT?

The problem with books is they haven't changed in hundreds of years, they're completely predictable and in an ADHD world they excite no one.

Enter zeens-- a new creation whose colorful presentation is designed to attract the unwary back to reading. A zeen better emphasizes the aura of analog via visual and tactile effects which digital can't duplicate. 

The only way to adequately judge those effects is to order a copy. 

On sale at New Pop Lit's POP SHOP, and soon at other fine places.

Literary Fan Magazine-- Now Available!

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO DEPARTMENT

Yes, it's not too late to purchase your copy of the most unique literary publication on the planet-- Literary Fan Magazine. Filled with photos of literary celebrities, literary News, Opinion, and Gossip, and a striking action cover photo of up-and-coming lit talent C. A. Shoultz. This is one not to miss.

Purchase it today at New Pop Lit's POP SHOP while supplies last. They're going fast!

Easy Last-Minute Christmas Shopping

 

WOULD YOU like to send a high-quality literary gift to relatives or friends?

You could not do better than ordering New Pop Lit's top-of-the-line literary journal, ZEENITH.

State-of-the-art design combined top-level writing-- including the best new voices on today's literary scene from places far and wide: Mark Marchenko, Brian Eckert, Chrissi Sepe, Robert Kaercher, Holly Day, Erin Knowles Chapman, James Croal Jackson, and Kathleen Marie Crane (who also provided unique illustrations). 

Further, your ordered copy will be sent to designated giftee within one business day, first class mail, in a special silver-colored holiday envelope.

Order your copy NOW right here.

<<<<>>>>

Which Story Is Better?

GEORGE SAUNDERS VERSUS NICK GALLUP

 Currently New Pop Lit has a Reading Challenge! ongoing-- an opportunity to read two recent short stories and compare them in a brief (25 to 500 words) review that would be posted within days at the New Pop Lit NEWS blog.

Who's game? Anyone?

(So far we've had two comparisons offered, here and here.)

*******

For me, George Saunders has always been a puzzling writer-- though I suppose it's not puzzling why he's widely published and lauded.

Saunders turns standard populist writing practice on its head. At one time, authors (and more, moviemakers) would offer a romanticized depiction of actual life, as both incentive and escape for the intended audience: the masses, including those struggling.

George Saunders offers a wildly exaggerated version of reality-- exaggerated in the other direction, depicting lower class life as grotesque, deformed, and diseased. We can't be sure of the intended audience-- but we do know his actual audience, which isn't the masses, but instead, those who are well-educated and affluent. Those who read The New Yorker magazine, for instance.

Which I guess means Saunders' work isn't in any way populist.

*******

If you can, read and compare the two stories!

Comic Book Fiction Without the Pictures

 

THE LATEST zeen from New Pop Lit is written by myself--

CRIME CITY U.S.A.

The slim publication contains a ton of artistic ideas. A hyper-noir story enclosed within a somewhat punk design, with a 1920's melodrama vibe. Sound like a mixed-up clash of motifs? 

We're just trying to be unique.

Order the zeen here today!

Reinventing the Literary Journal

DEBUT OF EXTREME ZEEN

Yes, it's here. The first literary journal since the 1920's to leap into an entirely new aesthetic direction. The first of many such experiments which will redefine what the presentation of literary art looks like.

Strictly an analog product-- one which needs to be held in the hand and gently fondled for maximum impact.

Don't be left behind. Purchase Extreme Zeen NOW at the new Pop-Lit Shop.

Thank you in advance.

Buy NEW POP LIT!

The best cover for a lit journal ever?

The stories and poems inside are as striking and dynamic.

How can you NOT own this literary artwork? It’s not perfect—but it is a harbinger of where the lit product is headed in both look and content. Fun and fast, finding a new path for readers and writers.

Get it! Available through our Detroit blog, here.

Formatting a Book

I’m happy to announce that NEW POP LIT #1 (which might be called Issue One Revamped) is back from the printer. It looks good. More than good. It looks great.

I have found throughout the course of the text a few infuriating trivial mistakes which somehow I missed. Trivial for sure in the larger context of what we’re doing, because the book is a very good product, containing terrific writing. BUT, the failure of achieving 100%—which a book needs to be—plunges me back into the maddening experience of formatting the thing.

Putting together a book online, especially a collection of diverse contributions, is not like designing zines, of which I’ve done many. The way I produced zines, offline, every step was analog. Meaning, when I finished a page, it was finished. Unchanging.

A digital file by contrast is always changing. Make a change in one part of the file, and suddenly a score of changes have taken place throughout. Like the butterfly effect—a butterfly flapping its wings can have effects on the other end of the universe. In this case, the other end of the file. An added word or spaced line can mean two extra pages.

I worked on the book at night, after getting home from a grinding evening “day job.” I soon found I was doing a mind meld with the file. The file became part of my brain. The gaps in the file became echoed by gaps in my tired brain.

I was putting a dozen or more files together, each one formatted differently, along with inserted artwork. Each time I made a change in the file as a whole, it caused a proliferation of changes within each separate file. Even when I thought I’d brought them tediously up to speed. For instance, when I was 90% done, I decided the margins needed to be justified. A good move, but it threw off everything. Was the file also  “register true”? Oops! Another change to be made, causing other changes. Don’t ask me about titles, headers, and footers. I’m still absorbing my learning in those areas.

When you don’t take these steps in the proper order—I was operating by trial and error—then after each step you should proofread every single part of the file. Stories, poems, art, contents page, title page: everything. This becomes mentally exhausting. You begin skipping and scanning. The contents are of high quality. At times, the submissions are amazing. But that doesn’t mean you can reread them word by word night after night with ease! (The re-readings made me realize how amazing the pieces are. I have total appreciation for the talents of the writers and artists we were able to find.)

I took the obstacles and challenges as a kind of punishment given me from the mind of the universe for the extreme hubris of my past life. Maybe as a warning not to be arrogant and self-satisfied this time around. I’m thankful that I have another “this time” in which to push my ideas, and maybe, this time, to get them right.

The upside in the experience is that eventually you reach a point when you’re able to be a little creative. It’s why I’ve decided to keep going. I truly believe I can create books, in look, style, and writing, that will be a step beyond anything produced by the mainstream. If I can visualize it, I can create it—the creation dependent of course on the ability to find talents like those we’re showcasing in this our first title—from cover artist Alyssa Klash (our cover a fully realized achievement) to “Pop Picasso” insert artist Dan Nielsen, to unbelievable writers like Jessie Lynn McMains, Thomas Mundt, Brittany Terwilliger, Alex Bernstein, Robin Dunn et.al., with exclamation marks; to interview subject author/publisher Delphine Pontvieux; and to the very special Kathleen Crane, without whose support and encouragement this project would be floundering.

Now comes the task of promoting and selling the produced thing, which should be easy!

Is the Phanatic Leaving Philadelphia?

The notion of the Phillie Phanatic leaving Philadelphia has been the subject of conversation since the spring. See this article:

http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2014/05/28/77028874/phillies-fans-want-to-trade-the-phillie-phanatic-for-mike-trout

The idea interests me, since my new project, NEW POP LIT—which I’m producing with writer/blogger Andrea Nolen as well as the Friends and Enemies of Pop Literature—needs a mascot!

(See our fantastic site: www.newpoplit.com )

If the Phillie Phanatic is truly available, searching for a better deal, we’d like to make him an offer. Maybe some classic Detroit–style Coney Dogs and the opportunity to watch, um, a better baseball team. (And by now he must be tired of cheesesteaks.)

Of course, since the Phanatic is a native of the Galapagos Islands, there’s the question of possible travel restrictions on his visa.