tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432817549859327458.post3971518347076627381..comments2024-01-05T20:26:44.857-08:00Comments on Thinking Again: Literary Communities and the Ethics of Publishing: A Conversation (Part One)mark wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10047292022080114501noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432817549859327458.post-80925770414885454382011-10-23T12:28:34.449-07:002011-10-23T12:28:34.449-07:00Dear Adam--I agree that this is the usual definiti...Dear Adam--I agree that this is the usual definition of "community," but I'd like to suggest that there are other possible models, even more difficult ones, that allow for--even encourage--differences across the usually accepted lines of race, gender, class, etc. Utopian, I suspect, but someone's gotta do it. Thanks for your comments. Susansusanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16934944559857117395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3432817549859327458.post-34932506584591076332011-10-23T11:42:18.707-07:002011-10-23T11:42:18.707-07:00The human flaw I see in the concept of community i...The human flaw I see in the concept of community is the assumption that all members of the community are like-minded and function as a whole.<br /><br />Although like-mindedness is often a gravity within a community, reality speaks differently exposing more of a venn diagram than a pie-chart. Individuals and their interests/desires perhaps overlap one another to form a community, however there is the more to the individual than their communal alignments.<br /><br />Concerning the latter 'function as a whole' fallacy, as in any community, individuals drive the group further in one direction or another (for better or worse) essentially 'speaking' for the group. Onlookers then associate that individual's works/(mis)deeds with their surrounding community, either uplifting or devaluing the entire community based on one of its parts. 'Function as a whole' is a dangerous assumption that I feel shook writers up during this 'small-press issue.'<br /><br />This isn't to discourage community, as community is the only reason I bother pursuing writing as a 'career.' This is to highlight that communities are made up of very different people who share a few commonalities and to assume, to fall complacent into a community is pulling the hammer back and resting a finger on the trigger (how's that for a dead metaphor).<br /><br />-Adam BishopAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com