Memoirous

As a writer I can keep writing despite the difficulty of getting a publishing contract. There are enough zines, magazines, and journals both print and online that will accept my stuff. With comedy you sort of NEED an audience—not only to become well known but to hone your craft. You HAVE to see what works and what doesn’t. It is very subjective. As part of an arts group in Chicago, I had an account with an online platform where you could send out arts announcements, find out about residencies or calls for submissions. It was a type of clearing house associated with the City of Chicago arts and tourism, from which I received several grants. Anyway, I put a call out for comedians to practice their set before a live captive audience: the men at our homeless shelter’s day drop-in program. We didn’t really have a name. When I came every week and Franck and Andre made an announcement that Ms. Jane was here, they called it the talking group. It was so casual that it was about nothing. I’m...

There are many articles and books addressing the vanishing middle class, but this was the first book I’ve read that examines the vanishing creative class. Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier (a dreadful dude) writes not about the economics of the situation but about cyber future. This blog has commented in the past on compensation and how most of what I write ends up as simply a byline or publishing cred=FREE CONTENT. If I absolutely needed to support myself on my art then I would have to retrain and NOT write. Blame the Internet. Lanier as well as anybody understands. Even as he criticizes the digitization of information/entertainment/all that is holy—he is getting paid by what he calls Super Sirens—or is it Siren Servers? That which giveth, taketh away. The publishing industry will ultimately go the road of the music industry, the same road that flushed away the local bookstore and the superstore Borders that lays empty down the street from me. The blame just kee...