2013 « Keri Smith

October 4th, 2013

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My newest offering.

Please note: The book is compiled in part from some of my other books and also includes some new material. I had been thinking about doing something with mail for a while now, and reworked some pieces that I love and that I felt lent themselves to the concept of mailing. I enjoyed it so much that I am going to do it again at some point. It is not an attempt to “repackage” old material, so don’t write me in a huff about it.

One of the reasons I do not write much here anymore, (well in fact there are many reasons), is that I became tired of cranky comments and trolls. I have no interest in constantly defending my work and my every word, I have no time or energy for that. As my work has increased in popularity, so have the critiques. Which is completely expected, and I am grateful for those who do value what I do. I hear from a lot of you and I apologize that I cannot write you all back. Please know that I read and am grateful for every word! I am devoting as much time and energy as I can into my family and my work and I find there is not much energy leftover for this space.

I am not bitter about the internet per sey, but more saddened about the direction blogging has gone in (ie. ad based and commercial). Basically everything I feared about (and wrote about) the medium many years ago has come true. Blog ads have destroyed the integrity and the voice for everyone, not just those who have them. I so rarely read them now because the content has become a vehicle to sell the ads (as predicted), and so many are filled up with sponsor interviews and product giveaways. In the beginning I really believed in the internet as a democratic environment that could change everything, and in some ways I still believe in that, but it is also so bogged down with advertising that it has become no different than other mediums, (the ones I left behind long ago, most namely tv.)

And so I focus on the good out there, and the good that I can do with my own work. I truly believe in what I am doing, and I will never put out anything with the purpose of “making money”. I will only do what I feel has a reason for being, something that benefits people, (no product’s for product’s sake).

So where does that leave this space? I would be lying if I said I hadn’t contemplated leaving it behind for good. Something about disappearing into the ether excites me. I was inspired by James Kochalka’s exit from his daily comic American Elf. I would like to become an underground secret agent who pops up unexpectedly but really stays out of the limelight. I have recently begun a campaign of sabotaging my own books in bookstores, (well not wrecking them per sey, just writing in them a bit). I enjoy the fact that I might get caught at some point.

I suppose I do not know about what will happen here in the future.

There is a magical theatre in the book Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse which is not always there. It shows up only if the protagonist is in the right headspace.

Maybe my blog will become that. I will figure out a way to have it appear only to those who are truly interested and in an open minded frame of mind. I like that idea. Any programmer’s out there who can do this?