On Saturday 13 Nov 2004 18:35, mallin1 wrote:
> Day 2 - Report back on the 'New Writing Types' Conference, Norwich,
> organised by The New Writing Partnership
>
I'm intrigued - can someone define "new writing types" for me please?
<snip>
> I know some politics: while arts council grants in all other art forms are
> about developing the art and projects, in the sphere of literature the
> opposite applies: every application from a writer must now have written
> confirmation from a publisher, the more established the better. That is,
> only in literature is a criteria of worthiness applied to the artist. In
> all other forms it is about developing the artist's work or the project's
> work - from fine art to theatre and dance. In other words, in the UK
> literature is to be confined to a 'book,' while a painter can do what
> she/he wants and call it 'painting.' Surely this is an anathema to poetry?
>
Well, I think a few grants have been made to develop websites - though I also
think that those websites exist to promote various hardcopy magazines. I've
never researched the issue so I'm probably wrong somewhere ...
I've been slowly divorcing myself from the real-world poetry scene for the
past decade. The 'net serves up all of my poetic needs - both reading the
stuff and writing it (I especially like audio files - there's not enough
poetry on the radio, and I've had little entertainment from the few live
readings I've attended).
My particular gripe with hardcopy (and even netzine) publication is the
strictures placed on the poet even before the submission process begins - in
particular I've never understood the common restriction of "40 lines
maximum". And the almost universal insistence on "previously unpublished
poems only" - why?
> The organiser, 'The New Writing Partnership,' is an arts council
> initiative, coming to a town like yours. The University of East Anglia is
> synonymous with this partnership, whereby 'community' is an add-on. There's
> nothing wrong with academe per se but there was a bottom line from the top
> table: there is A literacy criticism which arbitrates. Err, which literacy
> criticism?
>
Did you ever manage to find out?
> And this lack of questioning is what I didn't like: the
> conference is about giving answers. Surely the best of any answer to a
> question is an answer which also purveys a question? To me, this is
> teaching - age one to 101. This conference, the set up, the top table, want
> a certainty.
>
> Tell me, in any sphere of the present, is there certainty?
>
Taxes and death - though I'm working on the death bit.
> Tomorrow - Day 3 - I will tell of where I ran away to.
>
> Best, Rupert (plumber - have broken plunger, will travel)
>
Thanks for the report.
Rik
|