Currently, I have four tabs open within my browser. One of them is the submission statistics for Specter, the online literary magazine I co-founded almost two years ago. Every so often, I like to view the graphs provided by those good folks at Submittable, which gives me a snapshot of Specter’s short, tumultuous history. I say that with a perspective far more intimate than our readers, as well as those who’ve submitted, or those we’ve published. Continue Reading
iPads & Think-pieces
Using my iPad Mini makes me want to buy a stylus for it. The tablet is a little larger than a Moleskine notebook, so–when I hold it in my hand, there’s an impulse to pick up a pen and doodle or jot down some random note that’ll never make its way into a story or essay. I’m tempted to buy a stylus designed for capacitive touch screens; if for no other reason, it’ll reduce the number of actual notebooks I own–all for different purposes, such as journaling or outlining or general note-taking. Continue Reading
Art is a revolutionary act: On “Things Fall Apart”
I began this essay on March 5th 2013. I use the word “essay” loosely here, because it’s only a skeleton of a larger body of prose. A week ago, I re-read Things Fall Apart for the first time in 15 years; in part, for research; in part, because the re-read was long overdue. Today, Chinua Achebe passed away–so I want to share this essay’s skeleton now, with the intent to revise and complete it in the near future. Continue Reading
The First Six Months in NYC
Somewhere in Fort Greene, Brooklyn (taken by yours truly)
New York is indeed a colossus–one whose ability to break a person’s will is resisted only by some unknown forcefield or deflector shield; some people’s shields are stronger, less cracked, than others. My shield remains in its infancy, and it only can take so many impacts before I find myself drained, before the mere idea of riding a subway train triggers a panic attack.
Sometimes, the crowded bodegas and random police presence at subway stops (to say nothing of the police cars & vans hauling away the handcuffed) is simply too much to bear. To make matters worse, I’ve written so little since moving here; never in my life have I felt so defenseless against the cacophony, the hoard. Continue Reading
On: Duotrope and Value
The glib tweet above was my initial reaction to Duotrope’s decision to switch to a fee-based membership (FYI, Duotrope is a great website where writers can find various literary markets, as well as utilize the site’s great submission tracker tool). In all seriousness, I’m surprised Duotrope didn’t make the decision years ago since, as noted in their announcement, it’s been a long struggle for them:
For over seven years, Duotrope has tried to make ends meet by asking those who use the website or subscribe to our newsletter to contribute a small amount. Unfortunately, only about 10% of those who have used our services have ever contributed, and we haven’t met any of our monthly goals since 2007. Quite simply, we can no longer afford to run Duotrope this way. Continue Reading