QUILLBLOG

Litbloggers: you’re on notice!

The New York Inquirer has an interview with Keith Gessen, one of the brains behind the trendy U.S. literary journal n+1. Gessen discusses the magazine’s imagined rivalry with McSweeney’s, its place in the litmag landscape, and, most notably, his thoughts on litbogs.

The trouble with blogs arises when they go from being diaries (very private expressions, telling us something only that person knows) to being basically attention-grabbing mechanisms. That fake blog we had up was the result of my frustration with lit-bloggers. Back in the day, you would occasionally stumble upon some person blogging about their very private reading, what it was like, what their reactions were. Those people still exist, but they’re drowned out by people who are just purveyors of literary gossip — who comment on books they haven’t even read, who, as Marco likes to say, are just basically freelance publicists. It’s one thing to be corrupted by, say, the pressure of writing for the New York Times Book Review, or the prospect of employment somewhere, or a blurb. But to sell your birthright for a couple of review copies and a link on a blogroll! For shame. So I spent a few weeks making fun of lit-bloggers and it was therapeutic. But then I stopped when I discovered the Alexa traffic ranking system and saw that I was practically the only person reading these things.

Thanks to Maud Newton (maudnewton.com) for the link.

Related links:
Click here for the interview

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