BIOGRAPHIC FOR THE PEOPLE!:
Caustic critic (aka P. Maudit) of the academic/literary established-order milieu et al and founding editor of The American Dissident
All pictures, poems and cartoon panels are by Mr. Slone, GeorgeTodSlone @ 2008
link to read Mr.Slone's Monday Report for the Alliance!
Published February 11 of this year ....
http://literaryrevolution.com/mr-slone-021108.html
Testing the Waters of Democracy Today in Concord… and at Walden Pond
Preservation—Free Speech in Peril
Andrei Codrescu and Lawrence Ferlinghetti
January 2007—All Things Not Considered:
The Glossy Vacuity of Art & Poesy*
Is it not interesting to wade through
a silky, colorful artsy magazine and
end up with nothingness?
How much does nothingness cost?
you may wonder.
Well, it surely must be expensive!
The names grab your attention,
of course, Mailer and Tennessee,
but what they say does not.
Through the interviews with the artistes,
you hunt for a bite of wisdom, but find
only anodyne questions and responses.
"Why do you paint on panels instead
of canvas?"
"What role does having exhibitions play
in your work process?"
And of course there’s the poetry editor,
boasting how great the poets
she’s selected
and how one of them could have kept
her poem in the present tense, but
the decision to shift it in the last line
complicated it, making it oh, so
"charged, immediate, and layered."
There’s the essay on the state governor,
deeming politics a fine art,
or so says the smitten writer.
And there’s the essay on the millionaire
public intellectual with photos of him
playing tennis and walking his white poodle,
so proud of his corporate executive son.
The poets, writers, and artistes, so
successfully bourgeois are they,
yet such sterile failures!
…………………………………………………
*Poem written round Provincetown Arts, 2007
A Poem for the Edification of Lit Cogs
Intellectually I sharpen from constant collision
with the established-order—its myriad components
and ubiquitous legions of abnegating proponents.
"I agree with much of what you're saying," wrote
one such editor,* who then proceeded to argue
that what I was saying was actually
"rant" and "sour grapes."
But how could an intelligent person agree with that,
I wondered, bringing it to his attention, though in vain;
besides, why should the literary agora be open only
to sweet grapes?
"But if your tone is anything like your tone here, I
wouldn't be interested in it," he stated with regards
another critical proposal of mine.
Thus, my approach was off, my tone wrong, and
of course my taste not in good taste at all.
But was Villon’s verse written in the right tone or
Solzhenitsyn’s prose or Bukowski’s or how about
Thomas Paine’s? Was his written in good taste?
But to that, the constituent simply closed the debate
with a curt "good luck with the browbeating."
Sadly, the logic tends to die, inevitably,
with diehards of the established-order
…………………………………………………………
*C.L. Bledsoe, editor of Ghoti Magazine
Poem #2 for the Edification of Lit Cogs
An editor wrote that my "general frustration with
some of the ‘norms’ and ‘protocols’ of the literary
world were well-founded and needed
to be expressed"* and
that he was "really drawn" to my writing.
"I must say. I actually agree with a lot
of what
you say."
Three months later I wrote him a reminder, asking
if he were still drawn to what I had to say and would
consider publishing something of what I had to say.
But in an unsurprising about face, he responded
"I'm not wanting to out and out burn bridges because,
well we’re a writer-friendly publication."
Yet how, I wondered, had the prime concern of
literary publishers, apart from excellence—
oh, but of course!—
become apprehension of burning bridges, while
"writer friendly" equated with truth avoidance?
Had the Janus-faced politician turned role model?
"But I do want to take on (more) controversial issues,
and I do want to give voice to ‘unpopular’ views,"
he proudly declared, as if fence straddling had been
elevated to one of the fine arts.
"Some degree of prudence is needed, but not to the
point of sacrificing authenticity and fairness."
Would he, I wondered, be presenting himself one day
as candidate for the Congress or Senate?
…………………………………………………………
*John Amen, Chief Editor of Pedestal Magazine
G. Tod Slone
(todslone@yahoo.com)1837 Main St. August 2007
Concord, MA 01742
