Artists and the Middle Way.

Why do you have so many contemporary painters who pose with brush and pallet in their hands while most of their work consists of digitally created canvas prints? Previous generations were proud to pose with the latest tools of their craft that offered them more possibilities to increase the quality and quantity of their output. … Continue reading Artists and the Middle Way.

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay $12 million for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock’s drip painting No. 5, 1948 sell for $140 million? Economist Don Thompson explores it in his book, tracing the money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of the art world in an attempt … Continue reading The $12 Million Stuffed Shark

Literature, Information Technology, and the Internet.

Information technology refers to the ways most literature comes nowadays into existence while the internet refers to its most popular distribution channel. The book industry has come to the realization that they have lost their monopoly of being the sole gate keepers of the literary world, while it can still be a career boost for … Continue reading Literature, Information Technology, and the Internet.

The US Literary Universe.

Since US literature, as represented by the US Library of Congress, has the whole universe as a subject, one could assume that this system is also governed by the same mechanisms that it describes. In the following two paragraphs I would like to outline some analogies between what most people consider as two disciplines who … Continue reading The US Literary Universe.

Serial Series Yes. Serialized Novels NO.

Lately I’ve out of frustration canceled my Kindle Unlimited account  about this issue. Too many authors don’t seem to grasp what’s the difference between a serialized novel and a serial series. Put simply: a series is a collection of books that all belong to the same “franchise” but can be read in any order (because they’re … Continue reading Serial Series Yes. Serialized Novels NO.

Pseudo-intellectualism in Modern Literature.

People who presume, not-entirely-unreasonable, that "literary fiction" represents a value judgment, fail to understand that "literary fiction" is just a marketing category (coined in the 1970's by publishing and book retailers) characterized by slower pacing, stylized prose, introspection and a focus on interior life over exterior action, a focus on character over plot. What they are not, though, are inherent markers of quality.