Literature is important to a culture. Before something becomes literature, however, it has to be published. That means it’s subject to all the constraints of the publishing industry, which is… (wait for it) an industry. It has to make money. Fine arts rarely make money, at least in the short term, meaning that the industry always has something else to focus on. That’s been accentuated lately by a general decline in publishing profitability. This is not a good time for literature.
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Yearly Archives: 2008
More Perfect Union: Literature
They were walking down Flagler Street in Miami like they might any other day, nothing more than two men that appeared to be strangers. The fact that one was Black and one was Latino would give them little reason to acknowledge each other at all, unless one wanted to start a fight. This was just 5 years after the bitter McDuffie Riot that filled the city with acrid, chocking smoke for three days. But on this day, they shared a quick high-five as they walked past each other, an audible smack of comradeship that split the tension of a big city day. The reason for this was simple: the Miami Dolphins were in the playoffs, and both men were proudly wearing their white, aqua and orange shirts with Dan Marino’s 13 on the back.
More Perfect Union
Two generations ago, the USofA found itself in something like a Baroque Era. There was unprecedented wealth distributed widely through manufacturing jobs, and many families found they could opt for “stay at home mothers” for the first time. In this world of chrome and fins, one thing was clear: outside of the ongoing scare from the Russkies, America was on top of the world.
Generations: Fractures
The great wheel of history turns, and another generation has taken its place at the top. While there are many things that can be said about the historic election just past the most obvious is that the change we have seen is simply due. The many faults in the Republican coalition which cracked apart during the last 8 years were, in many cases there at the start. A wise person with an eye to history would consider the faults that are present in the new majority to see what problems lie ahead – even though that seems like a major downer right now.
Generations: Passage
You wake up one day, and you go off to greet your parents. Maybe it’s at an airport, or maybe it’s just down the block. There’s one day etched in your memory as the day you realized it. That one day when the years of worrying about you and all the other things that crossed the lives of your parents are etched in their faces and pulled out the thinning strands of their hair. One day, your parents suddenly look old.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 