Among the aspects of this brave new world least popular is ownership of small, dedicated companies by huge, multifaceted corporations. Many see this tendency as resulting in a more mediocre culture. Resisting this rising tide of conglomerates are the few, the proud, the independent book publishers running houses that remain oases of individual taste and passion.
The ultimate difference between independent and corporate owned publishing is that the former has at its core someone who got into the business out of a genuine love of books. Still better would be someone driven by a real love of literature, but maybe one should not demand too much. This gives some hope that more thoughtful decisions will be made about which books get published and which do not.
Many who staff and own these small companies have degrees from a Master's of Fine Arts program. One generally thinks of these programs as training teachers, either at the college or high school level, who will then pass on the skills requisite to the art. Of course, the teaching career would be a pleasant job that met the graduate's financial needs. Their true passion would be remaining an engaged artist who, with luck, grows in prestige over the years within that art's small circle.
With the growth in MFA graduates, there simply are not nearly enough teaching jobs to create any reasonable expectation of an academic career. This situation is compounded by the deepening crisis of the shrinking audience for the fine arts overall. It has become increasingly obvious that the arts must be fought for in the public sphere.
A growing number of graduates sees the business side of art not just as a fallback to the academy but as the arts' true battlefield in this century. Too few without gray hair seem to be visiting the symphony anymore. More MFA programs each year offer courses in the production of little magazines and small volumes of poetry.
Technology, especially consumer electronics, is assigned much of the blame. Doubtless it has given billions of people worldwide easy access to the arts. However, on the whole it has made it more difficult, not less, to make a living as any sort of artist.
Many express concern about yet another of electronic media's ill effects upon the public interest in fine literature. There is much that suggests the public attention span is becoming eroded by the quick-cut ethos of big budget movies, video games, and TV. There are tens of millions of moviegoers who simply cannot sit through a black and white movie, and silent movies are simply out of the question. So is attending a play, or reading a modern poem.
21st century technology takes, but it also gives new opportunities, some with great potential. Indie publishers might like to hearken back to the 1920s, and its heroic little magazines. Meanwhile, the future of the arts might belong to the self-publisher, building his or her book entirely online, who might not even have an MFA.
The ultimate difference between independent and corporate owned publishing is that the former has at its core someone who got into the business out of a genuine love of books. Still better would be someone driven by a real love of literature, but maybe one should not demand too much. This gives some hope that more thoughtful decisions will be made about which books get published and which do not.
Many who staff and own these small companies have degrees from a Master's of Fine Arts program. One generally thinks of these programs as training teachers, either at the college or high school level, who will then pass on the skills requisite to the art. Of course, the teaching career would be a pleasant job that met the graduate's financial needs. Their true passion would be remaining an engaged artist who, with luck, grows in prestige over the years within that art's small circle.
With the growth in MFA graduates, there simply are not nearly enough teaching jobs to create any reasonable expectation of an academic career. This situation is compounded by the deepening crisis of the shrinking audience for the fine arts overall. It has become increasingly obvious that the arts must be fought for in the public sphere.
A growing number of graduates sees the business side of art not just as a fallback to the academy but as the arts' true battlefield in this century. Too few without gray hair seem to be visiting the symphony anymore. More MFA programs each year offer courses in the production of little magazines and small volumes of poetry.
Technology, especially consumer electronics, is assigned much of the blame. Doubtless it has given billions of people worldwide easy access to the arts. However, on the whole it has made it more difficult, not less, to make a living as any sort of artist.
Many express concern about yet another of electronic media's ill effects upon the public interest in fine literature. There is much that suggests the public attention span is becoming eroded by the quick-cut ethos of big budget movies, video games, and TV. There are tens of millions of moviegoers who simply cannot sit through a black and white movie, and silent movies are simply out of the question. So is attending a play, or reading a modern poem.
21st century technology takes, but it also gives new opportunities, some with great potential. Indie publishers might like to hearken back to the 1920s, and its heroic little magazines. Meanwhile, the future of the arts might belong to the self-publisher, building his or her book entirely online, who might not even have an MFA.
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