Re the male reading crisis: there is an overshadowed point regarding how children see us read. My wife and I read in front of the grandchildren all the time (you can only watch Moana 2 so many times), but this article made me wonder if we need to be more aware of HOW we read. Often it’s on my phone, and I see there is value in picking up an actual book in front of them. Convenience isn’t an excuse to forgo role modeling. Consider me duly chastised.
re: "Which is why I often think academia is a plague for any creative artist," Having never been in a creative academic program, my opinion is worth little (which will not ever keep me from opining!). But my guess is that both academia and its alternatives can be toxicity or supportive or both or neither. There is plenty of plagued "creative" work outside of academia - plagued by ignorance, narrow exposure to craft and others' writing, by notions of the complete subjectivity of art.
Totally hear you...and I agree that the rot isn’t exclusive to academia. There’s no shortage of insularity, ego, or unexamined assumptions in the so-called “outside world” either. And my frustration is less with academia per se and more with the way institutional structures, wherever they exist, can calcify or flatten the very thing they claim to nurture. That said, you’re absolutely right: access to craft, to lineage, to a community that takes art seriously...these are real gifts, and they’re not always found in the wild. Maybe it’s not about in or out, but how we keep ourselves open to learning while resisting the impulse to systematize everything mysterious.
Wow. Thank you Shannon. I’m honored
Thank you for writing that lovely piece, Buku!
Re the male reading crisis: there is an overshadowed point regarding how children see us read. My wife and I read in front of the grandchildren all the time (you can only watch Moana 2 so many times), but this article made me wonder if we need to be more aware of HOW we read. Often it’s on my phone, and I see there is value in picking up an actual book in front of them. Convenience isn’t an excuse to forgo role modeling. Consider me duly chastised.
Haha I struggle with this too tbh...i feel like overall, a good start is the reading itself and then we can always improve
No. I want to read poetry that breaks my soul out of the ice. Not lists.
More power to you!
re: "Which is why I often think academia is a plague for any creative artist," Having never been in a creative academic program, my opinion is worth little (which will not ever keep me from opining!). But my guess is that both academia and its alternatives can be toxicity or supportive or both or neither. There is plenty of plagued "creative" work outside of academia - plagued by ignorance, narrow exposure to craft and others' writing, by notions of the complete subjectivity of art.
Totally hear you...and I agree that the rot isn’t exclusive to academia. There’s no shortage of insularity, ego, or unexamined assumptions in the so-called “outside world” either. And my frustration is less with academia per se and more with the way institutional structures, wherever they exist, can calcify or flatten the very thing they claim to nurture. That said, you’re absolutely right: access to craft, to lineage, to a community that takes art seriously...these are real gifts, and they’re not always found in the wild. Maybe it’s not about in or out, but how we keep ourselves open to learning while resisting the impulse to systematize everything mysterious.
Ahhh thank you for the shout-out Shannan!
Love your stuff Caroline!