More on literary citizenship: building communities
Cathy Day, a writer/educator/fantastic person who I'm honored to interact with regularly/oh my god, she's so cool, wrote something from which I take a lot of inspiration: "Work to create a world in which literature can thrive and is valued." First, I'm gonna tell you that you should undoubtedly check out her blog. I've learned so much in just the past week from reading what she has to say about literary citizenship, and what we can do to nurture creative environments. Next, I'm going to talk your ear off about what I've learned in the past week. If you have the chance, I recommend checking out my previous blog post. just in case you're not sure exactly what I'm talking about. I think I do a good job of explaining literary citizenship and what it means to me there, I just realized that I didn't quite say everything I needed to about the subject in that one. Hence, this post.
So, in its simplest terms, I think we can define literary citizenship as not being a jerk. And when you're a brand new writer (like me) this is actually a bit tougher than it may seem. We might find it easier to write some literature off as stupid or boring if we're simply not interested in the genre. And yeah, we're allowed to think whatever we want, but I think some of us (including me) forget to have souls when we're talking about peoples' work. I think, at some point, everybody wants to be Charles Bukowski--tough loners, rebel writers without a cause. But I also think that we should never, ever try to be Bukowski, for several reasons. Maybe I'll write a whole other blog post about that sometime. The point is, don't go for authors' throats. Personal attacks, pretentious snobbery, and shrugging off others' hard work isn't gonna get you anywhere.
Expanding on the whole not being a jerk thing, I think good a literary citizens should go above and beyond to engage with other writers. In other words, be nice, be personable, and be supportive. I think this gets easier as we get older, and as we get more involved in the literary community. We make friends, hone our craft, and get better at interacting with both texts and authors as time goes on. You'll find yourself sharing poems, novels, essays, everything with other writers. You make friends. Friends, as many people will agree, are good things--even when they steal your phone charger on accident and I need that back, Sarah.
The last I'll ask you to thing to think about in literary citizenship should be a no-brainer, but no-brainers actually don't exist, so this is actually what I will always call a brainer, just try and stop me. Write. Yes, I just reminded you to do that thing that you probably do all the time. But I could list off dozens of times in the past week where I should've been writing and was doing something else. Now, I'm not saying you should always keep your nose buried in your Moleskine, but I am saying your should try to do something at least every day. And if that's too much, that's okay! But also shame on you! But also, really, don't beat yourself up if you don't meet your goals as quickly as you anticipate at first.
Creativity is a tough thing to build. It hits us like a tidal wave at times, and at others, we have to rip it out of somewhere, and even when we manage to, we hate what we make. That's why literary citizenship is so important. It fosters a legitimate community of supportive writers, people just like you and me who are simultaneously confident and nervous about our work. Do your best and be a good friend to people who share your interests, and I think you'll enjoy writing even more. After all, who doesn't want to do what they love with their friends?
Until next time, keep writing and I'll do it with you!
Matt
So, in its simplest terms, I think we can define literary citizenship as not being a jerk. And when you're a brand new writer (like me) this is actually a bit tougher than it may seem. We might find it easier to write some literature off as stupid or boring if we're simply not interested in the genre. And yeah, we're allowed to think whatever we want, but I think some of us (including me) forget to have souls when we're talking about peoples' work. I think, at some point, everybody wants to be Charles Bukowski--tough loners, rebel writers without a cause. But I also think that we should never, ever try to be Bukowski, for several reasons. Maybe I'll write a whole other blog post about that sometime. The point is, don't go for authors' throats. Personal attacks, pretentious snobbery, and shrugging off others' hard work isn't gonna get you anywhere.
Expanding on the whole not being a jerk thing, I think good a literary citizens should go above and beyond to engage with other writers. In other words, be nice, be personable, and be supportive. I think this gets easier as we get older, and as we get more involved in the literary community. We make friends, hone our craft, and get better at interacting with both texts and authors as time goes on. You'll find yourself sharing poems, novels, essays, everything with other writers. You make friends. Friends, as many people will agree, are good things--even when they steal your phone charger on accident and I need that back, Sarah.
The last I'll ask you to thing to think about in literary citizenship should be a no-brainer, but no-brainers actually don't exist, so this is actually what I will always call a brainer, just try and stop me. Write. Yes, I just reminded you to do that thing that you probably do all the time. But I could list off dozens of times in the past week where I should've been writing and was doing something else. Now, I'm not saying you should always keep your nose buried in your Moleskine, but I am saying your should try to do something at least every day. And if that's too much, that's okay! But also shame on you! But also, really, don't beat yourself up if you don't meet your goals as quickly as you anticipate at first.
Creativity is a tough thing to build. It hits us like a tidal wave at times, and at others, we have to rip it out of somewhere, and even when we manage to, we hate what we make. That's why literary citizenship is so important. It fosters a legitimate community of supportive writers, people just like you and me who are simultaneously confident and nervous about our work. Do your best and be a good friend to people who share your interests, and I think you'll enjoy writing even more. After all, who doesn't want to do what they love with their friends?
Until next time, keep writing and I'll do it with you!
Matt