The first time I encountered the term “literary citizenship”
Posted: January 13, 2013 Filed under: Definitions | Tags: Blake Butler, Brevity, definitions, Dinty Moore, literary citizenship 1 CommentIt’s important to say this: I didn’t invent the term “literary citizenship.”
I first came across it in 2008 when Dinty Moore posted this link from the Brevity blog to Facebook, which linked back to Blake Butler’s blog.
Blake Butler, fictionist, blogged in a most excellent fashion recently about the need to be a positive karmic force in the world of literary citizenship. What comes around, goes around, he reminds us. Here’s an excerpt:
(1) When you read something you like, in any form, write the author and tell them. You don’t have to gush or take forever. Just tell them you saw it, you read it, you liked it. It’s a supportive feeling. It’s better than not saying anything.
(2) Write reviews of books you like. Short review/long review, whatever. It’s not that hard. It takes a little work to think about it clearly, but what goes around comes around. You can’t expect to be recognized for your work if you aren’t recognizing others for their work. Open the doors.
(3) Interview writers. New writers or well known writers. You like somebody’s work a lot? Ask to…
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An Interview with Vouched Books founder Christopher Newgent
Posted: January 9, 2013 Filed under: Attend/Organize Literary Events, Buy Books, Interview Writers, Online Community, Shining Examples | Tags: Christopher Newgent, definitions, Social Media, Vouched Books Leave a comment
Ball State’s own literary citizen: Christopher Newgent, founder of Vouched, talks to Adam Robinson.
Indiana Literary Events
Posted: January 8, 2013 Filed under: Actions, Attend/Organize Literary Events Leave a commentPosted: November 11, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
My class on Literary Citizenship is starting to fill, and the students are already completing the first assignment: buy your domain name and create a blog/website.
Anna Leahy talks Lit Cit at Fiction Writers Review
Posted: September 24, 2012 Filed under: Definitions | Tags: Anna Leahy Leave a commentAnna Leahy talks Lit Cit at Fiction Writers Review
Matt Bell describes Lit Cit
Posted: September 24, 2012 Filed under: Definitions, Shining Examples | Tags: Matt Bell Leave a commentCathy Day’s principles of Literary Citizenship
Posted: September 24, 2012 Filed under: Definitions | Tags: definitions, Rebecca Rasmussen, The Bird Sisters 24 Comments
Sometimes I talk about these principles at writer-type gatherings.
Cross Post Alert: I published some initial thoughts and principles about literary citizenship, in March 2011 over at The Bird Sisters, writer Rebecca Rasmussen’s blog dedicated to artists and writers. I got a lot of my ideas from this post on the Brevity blog.
Literary Citizenship
What is Literary Citizenship?
Posted: September 24, 2012 Filed under: Definitions, Shining Examples | Tags: definition, Shannon Cain 1 Comment
Advice to an Aspiring Author on How to Publish Your Book
by Shannon Cain
1.) Write well. Pursue this goal for about 10 or 20 years.
2.) Tend to your literary citizenship:
- Read. A lot.
- Subscribe to literary magazines.
- Buy books. Review them, and publish the reviews.
- Teach.
- Celebrate the achievements of your colleagues. Champion their work.
- Share your power.
- Donate to small presses. Volunteer. Join a governing board.
- Practice humility.
- In workshop, be patient and kind and truthful.
- Attend talks and conferences. Listen hard.
- Mentor a new writer. Be mentored.
- Be a good friend to other writers. Keep generosity in your heart.
3.) Realize that literary citizenship makes you a better writer. Know that the more you give, the more you get back. Forget about publishing. Just write. And give.
Shannon Cain’s story collection, The Necessity of Certain Behaviors, won the 2011 Drue Heinz Literature Prize. She is a manuscript consultant and teaches fiction in the MFA program at Bennington College. This advice appeared in the newsletter for Kore Press. Leslie Pietryzk noticed how awesome it was and blogged about it at Work-in-Progress.
Hello world!
Posted: September 23, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentMy class on Literary Citizenship will start on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013. This is the course blog. If you’re interested, follow along with the class.
Thanks, Cathy.
Literary Citizenship 