I've been thinking a lot lately about the role of art in this world and if it can really move anything towards change. Ed Abbey thought that in the long run art, and more specifically, a novel could have an impact on the world. But, Ed Abbey was much like Kurt Vonnegut in that he did not see us (or most of us anyway, and in that he differs from KV) long for this place. He was a man of action and respected most those who were greater men--and women--of action. Change, change in the here and now, he thought, could not come from talking about it. You had to do it.
I read in some class or another about literary journalism a quote from a journalist writing in the Vietnam era. He asked something to the extent of if you weren't there, covering and writing about the war, then just what the hell was it you were doing? The unnecessary answer being, of course, nothing. Or what you were writing amounted to that.
This has been on my mind lately; there's just so much wrong with the world. Can poems and short stories and pictures really make anything better...in any real way. I haven't come to any conclusion yet. I tend to lean towards the opinion of Mr. Abbey, but do we have the time?
Anyway, I was pondering this over one night with a new friend--really I just met this girl--and she had these positive things to say about InDigest, which gave me hope. People still surprise me with their kindness, and so I guess I'll believe for a while longer.
"So our conversation at the bookstore the other day, and reading the writing on indigest got me thinking about how having public places to express art, writing, ideas, are central to having a healthy society...I was thinking about how dull and repressed our world would be if people were not allowed to create art and share it with others. I feel like art makes us slow down and pay attention to details. To notice. Sometimes it's the only way to truly express one's experiences. So I don't think you should feel like you are not contributing to the good of society-I think we need more people to connect on those levels."
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
InDigest Goings Ons
Alex Lemon, featured in Issue 1 Poetics, has a new collection out. Hallelujah Blackout is Lemon’s second collection of poetry. It features the poem Hallelujah Blackout, which was selected for Best American Poetry 2008, and also features two poems originally published here, in InDigest.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
InDigest Issue 4
First things first, if you don't know me and somehow stumbled across this blog--though, I have no idea how you would--InDigest is:
an online literary magazine focused on creating a dialogue about and between the arts. It all started with a few people working in a coffee shop, probably sick of the customers, probably bored with talking about how cold it was, probably a lot of things. The point is they got talking, and then someone said, “We should call it InDigest.” And then the rest said, “I like it.” A year later, it came into existence.
Launched in December of 2007, InDigest was originally to be a forum to highlight important work of people we knew in person, but quickly became more than that, as we realized that if we had the opportunity to show the world great art we would not refuse the world that whether we knew the creators or not (insert exclamation point for dramatic effect). We soon had submissions coming from as far as Hong Kong and as close as having a beer with a friend (“Here you go friend, a story, for you.”).
Our hope: To get people reading and looking at some work that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to read or look at. We understand that there are many avenues for people to get their poetry/fiction/nonfiction/art fix, and we are not so pretentious as to think that we are offering something wholely different. We are a literary magazine, and hope only to add to the consumption by intelligent readers and viewers. (All others concern us little.) That being said, we do hope to offer new voices, and to do so in a refreshing way: to, again, get a dialogue going about and between the arts.
Yet another hope: That you enjoy fully.
Issue 4 is now up and ready to be consumed by you. Read it here now.
an online literary magazine focused on creating a dialogue about and between the arts. It all started with a few people working in a coffee shop, probably sick of the customers, probably bored with talking about how cold it was, probably a lot of things. The point is they got talking, and then someone said, “We should call it InDigest.” And then the rest said, “I like it.” A year later, it came into existence.
Launched in December of 2007, InDigest was originally to be a forum to highlight important work of people we knew in person, but quickly became more than that, as we realized that if we had the opportunity to show the world great art we would not refuse the world that whether we knew the creators or not (insert exclamation point for dramatic effect). We soon had submissions coming from as far as Hong Kong and as close as having a beer with a friend (“Here you go friend, a story, for you.”).
Our hope: To get people reading and looking at some work that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to read or look at. We understand that there are many avenues for people to get their poetry/fiction/nonfiction/art fix, and we are not so pretentious as to think that we are offering something wholely different. We are a literary magazine, and hope only to add to the consumption by intelligent readers and viewers. (All others concern us little.) That being said, we do hope to offer new voices, and to do so in a refreshing way: to, again, get a dialogue going about and between the arts.
Yet another hope: That you enjoy fully.
Issue 4 is now up and ready to be consumed by you. Read it here now.
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