/lit/ - Literature

I've begun to realize that one of my chief goals as a poet is to "re-ensoul" the world. The world has become desecrated. What used to be grand mountains and stunning cities has become dead rock and dirt.

I hope to change that, or at least do what little I can.

What are some venues today, either online or offline, that publish poetry and fiction in a way that makes them visible?

I feel like one of the reasons nobody reads any more is that reading has become a kind of "crafty" activity, if that makes any sense. It's become a kind of specialty, heirloom activity, like typing on a typewriter or going to swing dance societies. You have to subscribe to specialty journals to read the latest poems and short stories, and you have to be "in the community" to find people who truly appreciate contemporary literature. The most mainstream you get these days, it seems, is the New Yorker.

This is why I'm so sad that Fluland went away. It seems like, for a moment, that guy had large numbers of people actually reading new fiction and new poetry again. I feel like that's the kind of buzz, the kind of spark, that's going to be needed if we want people to actually read again. But who's providing it?

Against all odds, many people on this board seem to genuinely care about books, literature, philosophy, and the great dialogue of ideas in the West. And I do mean GENUINELY care, as opposed to just putting on an image to cultivate an aura and appear cool and interesting to people.

You beautiful autists are crazy enough to think books and ideas really matter, and I love you for that.