The only person who really benefited from this situation is the guy they interviewed because this is probably the most interest his name has generated in his career. My guess is since he writes social commentary now instead of fiction, these editors just guaranteed a boost to his career and reach as a writer, whereas if they had just ignored it no one would ever have read the damn thing and been able to experience his “harm”.
I really like how you go beyond the usual cancel-culture controversy to get at the real issue, which is economic. These small publishers feel to me very much like an extension of MFA programs, not only because they’re entirely run by graduates of those programs, not only because their economic model makes no sense and relies on the support of people who can afford not to make money from their work, but also because their primary purpose is not what they say it is (producing writers and books) but rather to provide credentials.
As for all the brouhaha, it strikes me as purity culture, as you would find in fundamentalist religions. Someone becomes an outcast because they have violated a taboo, and the rest of society must shun them lest they themselves be contaminated. But at least most religions offer cleansing rituals so that the impure can rejoin the community.
I was one of the few people that read the interview before the backlash. Hobart has never been a mag I loved or even read regularly but I had seen some writers I like use it as a stepping stone, specifically Meg Pillow. Honestly, I only clicked the link of an interview of an unknown writer because he happened to have a Latine surname and that was a rarity. I pushed through the overly long q&a and came to the conclusion that he was just fishing for attention. He wasn’t even there to promote anything. Flash forward and there’s this whole meltdown happening on twitter. I look around to see if Alex Perez has new work and all I find is another interview on a podcast where he admits to playing up a character in Hobart. I’m three months late to this post, he’s still being talked about and I still don’t know if his fiction or commentary is even any good.
New to the party, sorry for butting in. As the guy who writes cheap adventure novels that never get published, I'm quite honestly, taken aback. Don't know who Hobart is, haven't read the interview, etc. but why on earth would folks do this to each other? They should be celebrating each other's work. Okay, I'll go back to my end of the pool. Best (and subscribed)!
The only person who really benefited from this situation is the guy they interviewed because this is probably the most interest his name has generated in his career. My guess is since he writes social commentary now instead of fiction, these editors just guaranteed a boost to his career and reach as a writer, whereas if they had just ignored it no one would ever have read the damn thing and been able to experience his “harm”.
I really like how you go beyond the usual cancel-culture controversy to get at the real issue, which is economic. These small publishers feel to me very much like an extension of MFA programs, not only because they’re entirely run by graduates of those programs, not only because their economic model makes no sense and relies on the support of people who can afford not to make money from their work, but also because their primary purpose is not what they say it is (producing writers and books) but rather to provide credentials.
As for all the brouhaha, it strikes me as purity culture, as you would find in fundamentalist religions. Someone becomes an outcast because they have violated a taboo, and the rest of society must shun them lest they themselves be contaminated. But at least most religions offer cleansing rituals so that the impure can rejoin the community.
I was one of the few people that read the interview before the backlash. Hobart has never been a mag I loved or even read regularly but I had seen some writers I like use it as a stepping stone, specifically Meg Pillow. Honestly, I only clicked the link of an interview of an unknown writer because he happened to have a Latine surname and that was a rarity. I pushed through the overly long q&a and came to the conclusion that he was just fishing for attention. He wasn’t even there to promote anything. Flash forward and there’s this whole meltdown happening on twitter. I look around to see if Alex Perez has new work and all I find is another interview on a podcast where he admits to playing up a character in Hobart. I’m three months late to this post, he’s still being talked about and I still don’t know if his fiction or commentary is even any good.
You really should do this:
https://www.copyright.gov/registration/
I don't see Hobart in World Cat. World cat provides bibliographic information and tells you which libraries own it.
https://www.worldcat.org/
New to the party, sorry for butting in. As the guy who writes cheap adventure novels that never get published, I'm quite honestly, taken aback. Don't know who Hobart is, haven't read the interview, etc. but why on earth would folks do this to each other? They should be celebrating each other's work. Okay, I'll go back to my end of the pool. Best (and subscribed)!