I posted this essay recently on Litbreak but then withdrew it, finding it excessively dogmatic and ranting. I was reluctant to delete it altogether, so I inserted it in my private journal instead.
But it bothered me that I took it down. An editor should face the music. So I reread the essay and edited it slightly…especially removing a prominent swear word. So here it is again: excessively dogmatic and ranting.
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I’ve written a couple of short essays over the past ten years that basically lead to this one: why Litbreak tries to exist. I’ve been working on Litbreak since December of 2015, when my friend, Jason Chambers, gave me the site. I used to work for him, and before that, I used to work with him.
Litbreak exists to defend storytelling, whether in the form of prose or verse. The word “apology” can be used in the classical literary sense, as in, “An Apology for Poetry (Sidney). But I’m being more brutal here, meaning that storytelling should be allowed to exist. In our era, it’s threatened.
It’s common throughout history, and the rule rather than the exception, that expression should be repressed, and even crushed, by the “authorities” who claim, for no comprehensible reason, that they have the right to tell us what to do. Who are these authorities, who claim by right of force, to tell us what to do, and what to write about it?
They’re afraid of writing…that isn’t as dull as they are. Alexander Pope, one of my favs, wrote a long, satirical poem called The Dunciad about the triumph of dullness.
Bullies love dullness…because they are dull. And because they fear the opposite, which I prefer to call “enlightenment”.
But what, if you wish, can also be called “the freedom to be funny, charming or entertaining” with impunity…by saying whatever you want to say. Bullies hate that.
And besides, the steady accumulation of wealth in our era, at the expense of everyone else, depends on dullness. Wealthy people are, as a rule, phenomenally dull…although they think they are fabulous.
If you need proof, consider a recent wedding of considerable affluence, which was a triumph of idiocy and selfishness. Elites are amazingly dull. They must be dull by design, because no one could be that dull otherwise.
They are dull so no one will ask uncomfortable questions. They look askance at curiosity. Because curious people may ask questions. If the law ensures us freedom of expression, then why is “the establishment” (long live the ’60’s) so antagonistic if we exercise it? You can say whatever you want, as long as you say what everyone else says. But say something different and…
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I like my fellow citizens who can tell a story. And that usually requires that they like to read books. Because you can’t have the skill to tell a story unless you’ve learned from others how to do it. Even if you have talent, which is a sovereign power…and you can’t tell a good story unless you have talent. As for reading books and citizenship, anyone who reads books is a fellow citizen of mine. I like broad definitions to take me as far as they can.
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My language competence is in English. So Litbreak is about storytelling in English. With that limitation, Litbreak considers submissions from all over the world. Litbreak has friends all over the world.
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About talent, I wanted to emphasize that you can’t tell a good story without it. Talent needs polishing, through practice and education. But the greatest MFA in the world can’t help you write well if you don’t have talent in your blood…
and a great treasure house of language in your culture, which you should want to learn about. Don’t mind if you encounter dull teachers…not everyone has the talent to teach, but dull teachers don’t own the culture, you do, if you care about it, if you are curious.
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Litbreak paints with a broad brush. I’ve turned down a student from Oxford, it surprised me how bad that submission was, and welcomed one from Cambridge. Harvard and Brown have appeared in our pages.
There have been a lot of profs around Litbreak. I love the profs. We’ve also published their students. Undergrads who like to write are welcome at Litbreak. But…you have to have talent.
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Talent. I’ve felt for a long time that wisdom should be honored wherever it is found, and you mustn’t pre-judge where it can be found. Talent is wisdom’s younger sister. It can be found everywhere. Litbreak is looking for it everywhere.
That’s why Litbreak tries to exist.
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