PEN America in turmoil; CLMP pulls out of PEN festival; update from Guernica's Founder; antisemitism in literary world; serial plagiarists; Tikkun, Juked, Superstition Review, Goddard closing, & more
“Antisemitism” is losing its validity as an allegation from misuse. Many American Jews seem to be claiming support for Palestinian independence and use of related slogans as instances of antisemitism, but it’s actually anti-Zionism/anti-colonialism, by definition. It’s making American Jews less safe, not more, to misuse such labels painting people as being against Jews for being Jews, instead of being against continuing oppression. Also, if supporting Palestinians is antisemitism, then supporting Israelis is anti-Arabism. One bigotry isn’t preferable (or shouldn’t be), they are both wrong.
It is the epitome of cognitive dissonance when some publishers sacrifice freedom of expression on the altar of political correctness and cancel culture, especially when many were founded to provide a home for previously marginalized groups. They are leading us back to the Dark Ages. It would be great if someone could publish a list of litmags who still choose pieces on their literary merit and not on the whims of the flash mobs of virtue signalers that are breeding like the maggots feeding off the literary body that they are.
"anti-Israel targeting". I am so tired of the narrative that has been going on far too long that being anti-Israel is being anti-jewish. Conflating being against Israel with being against Jewish people has been a weaponization of talking points that brought us to this place, and its horrifying to be aware of how bad it is in Palestine right now and that the literary world is still having so many of these *but both siiides* convos.
Two points on the PEN America schism. One, it represents a broader split and shift in American views on Israel and Palestine, which we also see in universities, media, art and cultural spaces, workplaces like Google, politics, etc. My guess is that it will continue at least for the duration of the Gaza war and maybe beyond. Two, the writers who are forgoing PEN awards and panel appearances because of the organization's stance on Gaza are willing to pay a price for making a statement or standing up for moral principles. My own view is that they are making a difference and deserve our admiration, particularly if they could have used the recognition or if they looking past group or tribal loyalties.
I sit here astonished at all the needless self-destruction and checkmate rhetoric. The parties of god have done all they can to assure the struggles in the Middle East will last past three generations from now, and I can't possibly be the only person who sneers a smirk whenever I see the phrase "War in the Holy Land." But instead of noting that religion has poisoned everything there we choose sides and yell at one another in righteous indignation, even though the unaligned eye sees that Netanyahu is a wannabe fascist who wants to sweep with the hand of the vengeful gawd and turn Palestinians into modern day Amalekites or the leaders of the Islamic states would throw your pro-Palestinian gay ass in jail at the first sniff of your crotch whether you were on their side or not. But go ahead, by all means exercise your freedom of speech to say only one side can do misery on the other and never mind the decades of mutual child killing done with the approval of the pious religious lurking far from the front lines on both sides.
Meanwhile no one is pulling pieces from litmags because that particular editor isn't talking about the genocide of Rohingya at the hands of the Myanmar junta, or protesting the lack of aid to Haiti, which has devolved into a mosaic of warlords and street gangs. And conferences aren't being cancelled because the governing body is getting a grant from a big candy company that uses slave labor to harvest their cocoa in Western Africa. And by all means lets just talk about what the news media feeds us as "issues" we need to think about and fuck the famines in Sudan and Ethiopia. Who cares about that stuff?
This is why I have no writers or editors as close friends. As most of the writers and editors I've met in my life are posers.
All of that literary news makes self-publishing look better and better. Reminds me of Baudelaire, who said, "Any newspaper, from the first line to the last, is nothing but a web of horrors...."
Uh, here in the US, we have this document—the Constitution of the United States—with a First Amendment stating our lawmakers can’t deny its citizens the freedom of speech “or the right of the people peaceably to assemble...” The open letter wraps up with the statement: “There is no form of censorship more powerful than the extermination of an entire people, no silencing more absolute than genocide.” Is this inclusive of an Israeli point of view or just a Palestinian? I’m just asking.
I do hope that the disagreements about the deepset conflict in the Middle East that has spilled widely across the world won't disturb (for long) the respectful dialogue normally found in this discussion thread. My best to everyone.
Re: Goddard— the decision to close was made by an absentee president and an absentee board of directors, without the input of the Goddard community (staff, faculty, students).
Regarding the plagiarism issue, it seems like some more robust legal remedies could be applied. What about mail/wire fraud? Aren’t the affected journals being defrauded? Certainty Copyright is being violated, but that would probably require the original author to file suit—no fun.
Since I live in Georgia (not the one in the former USSR but the USA), I try to enter our Lit Mags as much as I can. But for almost a whole year Chattahoochee Review and New South have been completely dormant. I have not seen any news of them closing, but since now they are all part of the same university system will they close any of them. The other publication that is part of that system is Five Points and yes they are open for business.
“Antisemitism” is losing its validity as an allegation from misuse. Many American Jews seem to be claiming support for Palestinian independence and use of related slogans as instances of antisemitism, but it’s actually anti-Zionism/anti-colonialism, by definition. It’s making American Jews less safe, not more, to misuse such labels painting people as being against Jews for being Jews, instead of being against continuing oppression. Also, if supporting Palestinians is antisemitism, then supporting Israelis is anti-Arabism. One bigotry isn’t preferable (or shouldn’t be), they are both wrong.
It is the epitome of cognitive dissonance when some publishers sacrifice freedom of expression on the altar of political correctness and cancel culture, especially when many were founded to provide a home for previously marginalized groups. They are leading us back to the Dark Ages. It would be great if someone could publish a list of litmags who still choose pieces on their literary merit and not on the whims of the flash mobs of virtue signalers that are breeding like the maggots feeding off the literary body that they are.
"anti-Israel targeting". I am so tired of the narrative that has been going on far too long that being anti-Israel is being anti-jewish. Conflating being against Israel with being against Jewish people has been a weaponization of talking points that brought us to this place, and its horrifying to be aware of how bad it is in Palestine right now and that the literary world is still having so many of these *but both siiides* convos.
Two points on the PEN America schism. One, it represents a broader split and shift in American views on Israel and Palestine, which we also see in universities, media, art and cultural spaces, workplaces like Google, politics, etc. My guess is that it will continue at least for the duration of the Gaza war and maybe beyond. Two, the writers who are forgoing PEN awards and panel appearances because of the organization's stance on Gaza are willing to pay a price for making a statement or standing up for moral principles. My own view is that they are making a difference and deserve our admiration, particularly if they could have used the recognition or if they looking past group or tribal loyalties.
I sit here astonished at all the needless self-destruction and checkmate rhetoric. The parties of god have done all they can to assure the struggles in the Middle East will last past three generations from now, and I can't possibly be the only person who sneers a smirk whenever I see the phrase "War in the Holy Land." But instead of noting that religion has poisoned everything there we choose sides and yell at one another in righteous indignation, even though the unaligned eye sees that Netanyahu is a wannabe fascist who wants to sweep with the hand of the vengeful gawd and turn Palestinians into modern day Amalekites or the leaders of the Islamic states would throw your pro-Palestinian gay ass in jail at the first sniff of your crotch whether you were on their side or not. But go ahead, by all means exercise your freedom of speech to say only one side can do misery on the other and never mind the decades of mutual child killing done with the approval of the pious religious lurking far from the front lines on both sides.
Meanwhile no one is pulling pieces from litmags because that particular editor isn't talking about the genocide of Rohingya at the hands of the Myanmar junta, or protesting the lack of aid to Haiti, which has devolved into a mosaic of warlords and street gangs. And conferences aren't being cancelled because the governing body is getting a grant from a big candy company that uses slave labor to harvest their cocoa in Western Africa. And by all means lets just talk about what the news media feeds us as "issues" we need to think about and fuck the famines in Sudan and Ethiopia. Who cares about that stuff?
This is why I have no writers or editors as close friends. As most of the writers and editors I've met in my life are posers.
Lots of news, not all good, but necessary to hear about. You really "cooked" that last paragraph.
All of that literary news makes self-publishing look better and better. Reminds me of Baudelaire, who said, "Any newspaper, from the first line to the last, is nothing but a web of horrors...."
Uh, here in the US, we have this document—the Constitution of the United States—with a First Amendment stating our lawmakers can’t deny its citizens the freedom of speech “or the right of the people peaceably to assemble...” The open letter wraps up with the statement: “There is no form of censorship more powerful than the extermination of an entire people, no silencing more absolute than genocide.” Is this inclusive of an Israeli point of view or just a Palestinian? I’m just asking.
Wow. Lots to digest here. And, it’s giving me a belly ache.
I do hope that the disagreements about the deepset conflict in the Middle East that has spilled widely across the world won't disturb (for long) the respectful dialogue normally found in this discussion thread. My best to everyone.
Re: Goddard— the decision to close was made by an absentee president and an absentee board of directors, without the input of the Goddard community (staff, faculty, students).
Let that sink in.
Thank you for this. You are one of the few voices of sanity left out there.
Regarding the plagiarism issue, it seems like some more robust legal remedies could be applied. What about mail/wire fraud? Aren’t the affected journals being defrauded? Certainty Copyright is being violated, but that would probably require the original author to file suit—no fun.
It's hard to take them seriously when they're marginalizing identities they don't like.
Since I live in Georgia (not the one in the former USSR but the USA), I try to enter our Lit Mags as much as I can. But for almost a whole year Chattahoochee Review and New South have been completely dormant. I have not seen any news of them closing, but since now they are all part of the same university system will they close any of them. The other publication that is part of that system is Five Points and yes they are open for business.
Not to pile on the closings, but Bards and Sages closed. I had a short story waiting to be reivewed by them.