A STORY
RUMOR HAS IT that organizers of Occupy Writers, that radical place of upscale protest, are ready to take their activism to the next level. Which means, of course, non-profit status to rake in contributions from rich people.
In order to appeal to those rich donors, they'll need to put their most successful and genteel writers out front-- exactly the way they did from the start. Do it, as well, with a sympathetic twist. Ergo, the name change to Oppressed Writers Incorporated.
Here's a quick look at their stellar line-up, with credentials for Oppressed Writer status listed:
Francine Prose
Insider recipient of just about every possible establishment position and prize.
Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket
Possibly the richest writer in America.
Chad Harbach
Received $665,000 advance from Rupert Murdoch.
Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Rich heiress bought The Nation and made herself Editor.
Keith Gessen
Lit-establishment Cronyista writer for New Yorker, Vanity Fair, New York Times, et.al.
Rick Moody
Prize-manipulating scion of wealth.
Tom Beller
Once wrestled a camera away from a female ULA member one-third his size.
Jennifer Egan
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist embracing the 99% from her gentrified Brooklyn kitchen.
Jonathan Lethem
MacArthur Genius designee wants Oppressed status for the postmodern establishment.
Lizzie Skurnick
Yale grad.
Oppressed Writers Incorporated hold their opening meeting at the swanky Russian Tea Room in Manhattan.
Ms. Prose steps to the microphone to make the opening speech, but has trouble talking with the flow of tears in her eyes. Swanky waiters bustle between swanky tables taking orders.
"This is all so wonderful . . . all you wonderful Oppressed Writers . . . I, I feel so wonderful at this wonderful community of the common people . . . I, I. . . ."
Prose begins bawling uncontrollably, her elegantly manicured hands clutching a silk handkerchief. Daniel Handler in dapper tux and top hat leads her away while Oppressed Writers in the room munch on canapes and sip quite loudly-- "Snort! Snort!"-- from expensive glasses of wine.
Showing posts with label Tom Beller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Beller. Show all posts
Monday, October 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
What Kind of Revolution Is It?
THE TRUTH ABOUT OCCUPY WRITERS
What does democracy look like?
If you want to see what co-optation looks like, see the list of big names at
http://www.occupywriters.com/
Many of these people are the most privileged writers in America.
The 99%? Where?
The last time I saw many of these same aristocrats, they were running over downtrodden writers with their carriages.
These folks have been literature's snobby aristo class, holding swanky soirees in modern-day palaces. To the protests, petitions, and revelations of corruption of the Underground Literary Alliance they erected a wall of hostility. Many of them verbally and even physically attacked us-- or had their security people deal with us. Now the same people are suddenly outside the palace, manning the barricades. The very same crowd! They shift stances as easily as changing cloaks. For them, it's really that simple. Being in control is all.
Their most hilarious moment is a tweet from Thomas Beller suggesting an Occupy Hamptons, with rich writers and publishers like Jason Epstein involved. Uh, Tom, the Hamptons are solidly in the top 1% of America. maybe the top 0.01%. Who will they protest against? Themselves? What's next? Occupy Fisher's Island?
I write this as one who's fought against plutocrats and media monopolies for years, and paid a price for it.
The originators of Occupy Writers-- Jeff Sharlet, a professor at Dartmouth College, and Kiera Feldman, a recent Brown University grad-- seem well-intentioned. Their associations with top 1% colleges, however, indicate they live in a closed world. They may not understand the realities of how the cultural system operates. They're certainly not among the great unwashed.
If they support democracy, will they support democracy in literature?
How many of the big talents on their list ever-- EVER-- write about the themes of the Occupy protests, namely greed, corruption, and class?
Francine Prose? Rick Moody? "Lemony Snicket" aka Daniel Handler? Handler is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and was also one of the ULA's most persistent foes, working to discredit us at every turn. Keith Gessen? Gessen was lately observed celebrating the very UNeven playing field of American literature in the pages of a conglomerate magazine, Vanity Fair, which is devoted to the celebration of wealth. These persons and many others on the list are the literary 1%. Literary aristocrats.
What kind of revolution is this?
Can anyone answer?
******************************
To read tales of class in America now, pick up my Mood Detroit. To read a manic noir take on corruption, read Crime City USA. The e-books are available for 99 cents each at Nook or Kindle. Can you afford it?
What does democracy look like?
If you want to see what co-optation looks like, see the list of big names at
http://www.occupywriters.com/
Many of these people are the most privileged writers in America.
The 99%? Where?
The last time I saw many of these same aristocrats, they were running over downtrodden writers with their carriages.
These folks have been literature's snobby aristo class, holding swanky soirees in modern-day palaces. To the protests, petitions, and revelations of corruption of the Underground Literary Alliance they erected a wall of hostility. Many of them verbally and even physically attacked us-- or had their security people deal with us. Now the same people are suddenly outside the palace, manning the barricades. The very same crowd! They shift stances as easily as changing cloaks. For them, it's really that simple. Being in control is all.
Their most hilarious moment is a tweet from Thomas Beller suggesting an Occupy Hamptons, with rich writers and publishers like Jason Epstein involved. Uh, Tom, the Hamptons are solidly in the top 1% of America. maybe the top 0.01%. Who will they protest against? Themselves? What's next? Occupy Fisher's Island?
I write this as one who's fought against plutocrats and media monopolies for years, and paid a price for it.
The originators of Occupy Writers-- Jeff Sharlet, a professor at Dartmouth College, and Kiera Feldman, a recent Brown University grad-- seem well-intentioned. Their associations with top 1% colleges, however, indicate they live in a closed world. They may not understand the realities of how the cultural system operates. They're certainly not among the great unwashed.
If they support democracy, will they support democracy in literature?
How many of the big talents on their list ever-- EVER-- write about the themes of the Occupy protests, namely greed, corruption, and class?
Francine Prose? Rick Moody? "Lemony Snicket" aka Daniel Handler? Handler is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and was also one of the ULA's most persistent foes, working to discredit us at every turn. Keith Gessen? Gessen was lately observed celebrating the very UNeven playing field of American literature in the pages of a conglomerate magazine, Vanity Fair, which is devoted to the celebration of wealth. These persons and many others on the list are the literary 1%. Literary aristocrats.
What kind of revolution is this?
Can anyone answer?
******************************
To read tales of class in America now, pick up my Mood Detroit. To read a manic noir take on corruption, read Crime City USA. The e-books are available for 99 cents each at Nook or Kindle. Can you afford it?
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