The Daily Square – Burning in The Desert Burning Edition
Daily links from booksquare: booksquare
On The Poets
Poor poetry, it is the Darfur of twenty-first century literature. Everyone wants to do something about it, but nobody quite knows what is to be done. Money is poured into it (think Miss Ruth Lilly’s $100 million bequest to Poetry magazine), prizes and titles are awarded to poets roughly every thirty-five minutes (think Poet Laureate of the State of New Jersey), new poets are produced roughly at the rate of rabbits (don’t think, lest serious depression set in, of all those endless MFA programs turning out more and more people who will themselves go on to teach in MFA programs).
Stop Your Sobbing
At first I was amused. Now I read articles decrying the cutting of newspapers book reviews with barely-contained impatience. I am tired of the hand-wringing, the bemoaning of “loss of culture”, the sense of entitlement many of these articles present. Rather than leading the way to the solution, the writers behind these pieces show, sometimes too clearly, why they were the problem. People don’t subscribe to newspapers for book reviews. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the economics of the news business have changed dramatically over the past decade. Heck, they’ve changed dramatically over the past century. Hmm,
Print-on-Demand, Self-Publishing, and the World of Economics: A Podcast
One of the great features of the Booksquare/Medialoper complex is the awesome production studio. It’s not unusual for the team (cats, humans, squirrels, random strangers) to go straight from the conference facilities to the microphone to talk about the big ideas of our era. Luckily for you, cooler heads often prevail the next morning. Except this time. Kirk Biglione interviewed author Timothy Sykes about his experiences with self-publishing and print-on-demand for Medialoper. Then Kirk thought, “You know, that chick who writes for Booksquare has a lot of opinions on this topic.” A glass(ish) of wine later…voila! Or maybe…two for price
On Tides, Turning
Henry Sutton, chair of judges for the fiction section of the awards and literary editor of the Daily Mirror, said he was “surprised and saddened” when he realised that no men had made the grade to even reach the shortlist for the category. “I was shocked when I realised that all three were women,” he said. “I’ve never believed in a difference of the sexes when it comes to literary talent, but there does seem to be a broader appeal in what women are writing than men.” Female writers triumph in New Writing awards
The Daily Square – The Humid Press of Days Edition
Daily links from booksquare: booksquare
Kindle: They Didn’t Start The Fire
Yeah, well, you try to resist a bad pun first thing in the morning. So Amazon, as threatened, has released its e-reader, the Kindle (the naming of products remains one of those mysteries that will never be solved). It uses e-ink, has wireless connectivity, generous battery life, and kills germs. Why am I not excited? Let us count the ways.
Apple Saves The Publishing Industry
So, yeah, you’re thinking that the Apple announcements yesterday were interesting. You’re thinking, wow, I didn’t want to spend a month’s worth of book money on a phone, but, hey, they lowered the price. Or maybe you’re thinking you didn’t need a new phone. But everyone can use an iPod. Especially since iPods are now more versatile than ever. Put on your magic thinking cap and make the best of this technology. I mean, to be more versatile, they’d have to work in the shower. I admit it. I wanted an iPhone for my birthday. Didn’t get one. Okay, fine.