CONTACT US   SUBSCRIBE   PREMIUM   ADVERTISING

73F Hi 81F
Lo 70F

Recent Blog Posts

The Open Form and Faith
Reader comment on: The Scorn of the Literary Blog

Submitted by Justin Dobbs, Jun 13, 2007 21:25

Literally, a person can post whatever they want to on a blog. Someone who blogs in not infected with a virus that makes them write badly.

A blogger can write about anything they desire. The blogger has the same tools a print reviewer has, a keyboard and a monitor.

The only difference between a blogger and a book reviewer is that the blogger does not have an editor.

This means that the blogger has more control, and more responsibility, over what he or she may writes.

Blog posts are not necessarily just news posts. The blog is an open form. Meaning the form of the blog has yet to be decided upon.

You have not defended what you write. I have defended what I wrote.

I did not write in abstractions. I wrote concrete sentences.

It's true that many literary blogs are not good. But most don't have reasons (such as money and an audience) to commit to a blog. Others that are excellent, such as Tao Lin's blog, became excellent based on faith that people would read if the blog was written well.

But a print reviewer, already having the big audience, too often does not act on faith, and in this way writes lazily with too many abstractions and talking down to others.


Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

  • Submit a comment on this article
  • Other reader comments on this article

    TitleByDate

    The "Who Gave You Permission" Ideology of Official Writers [138 words]

    cheyanne 

    Aug 10, 2007 16:47

    Who want to bet... [176 words]

    Levari 

    Jul 5, 2007 16:42

    judgement of critique [110 words]

    Henry Gould 

    Jun 29, 2007 08:31

    Cosmoetica is the home for online arts criticism [108 words]

    Dan Schneider 

    Jun 27, 2007 08:23

    The review model is a dead end [532 words]

    Anirudh Karnick 

    Jun 27, 2007 08:00

    The shills at Amazon [80 words]

    Barbara Delaney 

    Jun 19, 2007 20:34

    literary squabbling over definitions [144 words]

    Ms Baroque 

    Jun 16, 2007 19:32

      About LRB [109 words]

    Anirudh Karnick 

    Jun 27, 2007 08:11

    In defense of blogs [1417 words]

    Bibliolatrist 

    Jun 16, 2007 14:07

    Misreadings [137 words]

    Marc André Bélanger 

    Jun 15, 2007 12:41

    The Resentment of the Reviewers [250 words]

    Robert Archambeau 

    Jun 14, 2007 17:07

    "Hell Hath No Fury Like a Blogger Scorned" [50 words]

    harvey 

    Jun 14, 2007 14:24

    Many who complain about generalization also generalize [58 words]

    Bill 

    Jun 14, 2007 13:13

    ethics of blogreviewing [152 words]

    Robert Nagle 

    Jun 14, 2007 12:23

    Bloggers as Scapegoats [75 words]

    Gerry Young 

    Jun 14, 2007 10:52

    Buzz [127 words]

    rpm 

    Jun 14, 2007 10:19

    Those who can, blog too [143 words]

    Kelley Dupuis 

    Jun 14, 2007 08:38

    bitesized comments can bite [108 words]

    PD Smith 

    Jun 14, 2007 07:14

    limited view justified with huge generalizations [184 words]

    Katya Johann 

    Jun 14, 2007 02:28

    Um ... nope. [143 words]

    Duncan 

    Jun 14, 2007 00:19

    The virtues of book blogs [522 words]

    Chandrahas Choudhury 

    Jun 14, 2007 00:14

    ⇒ The Open Form and Faith [215 words]

    Justin Dobbs 

    Jun 13, 2007 21:25

    There are so many misconceptions in this opinion piece, I don't know where to begin. [410 words]

    Tammy Everts 

    Jun 13, 2007 19:20

    some good points, but too assertively overgeneralized [677 words]

    Reginald Shepherd 

    Jun 13, 2007 19:11

    The Silliest Dichotomy [312 words]

    Steven Augustine 

    Jun 13, 2007 15:11

    Asymmetrical Generalizations [130 words]

    Mark J. McPherson 

    Jun 13, 2007 15:10

    Both can be helpful [246 words]

    Jessica 

    Jun 13, 2007 14:28

    RE: re: err [41 words]

    Jonny Diamond 

    Jun 13, 2007 14:10

    Sounds Like Fear To Me... [84 words]

    Wendy 

    Jun 13, 2007 12:57

    Book review a farce and worse commercialize [64 words]

    Ramesh Raghuvanshi 

    Jun 13, 2007 11:37

    What's the Problem? [165 words]

    Tom 

    Jun 13, 2007 11:15

    Semantics are fun. [94 words]

    Matt 

    Jun 13, 2007 10:17

    Ridicule, Snark, Dish, Cuteness, Contrived Outrage, and Irrelevancy [174 words]

    Tim Barrus 

    Jun 13, 2007 10:01

    Take a broom to those sweeping generalizations! [71 words]

    Pamela 

    Jun 13, 2007 09:22

    Tastemakers [86 words]

    Richard S. Wheeler 

    Jun 13, 2007 08:54

    Not being "news" can be an advantage [141 words]

    Rohan Maitzen 

    Jun 13, 2007 08:50

    Special Pleading Pt IV [181 words]

    Robert Birnbaum 

    Jun 13, 2007 08:34

    Puffballs and pitfalls [17 words]

    G. Roberts 

    Jun 13, 2007 08:24

    The Book Blog Era [336 words]

    R Campbell 

    Jun 13, 2007 07:33

    Quality [107 words]

    Shalom Freedman 

    Jun 13, 2007 05:13

      Serves as a perfect example [42 words]

    Randy Deutsch 

    Jun 13, 2007 23:41

    Errrr....you do realize... [82 words]

    John 

    Jun 13, 2007 02:04

      "Literature is news that stays news." [40 words]

    Jonathan Vos Post 

    Jun 13, 2007 12:09

      re: err... [194 words]

    CR Beha 

    Jun 13, 2007 12:12

      Blogs and Articles [263 words]

    John 

    Jun 13, 2007 13:45

    The Party is Over [26 words]

    Abner Furd 

    Jun 12, 2007 18:48

    Comment on The Scorn of the Literary Blog

    Name:
    Email Address:

    Email me if someone replies to my comment
    Title of Comments:
    Comments:

    Mark my comment as a response to The Open Form and Faith by reader Justin Dobbs

    Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

    Click here to see the top 25 recent comments.

    Dog Days of Summer
    A New York Sun Advertorial Section

    NEW YORK >

    Rochester Billionaire Targets Silver With New PAC

    Crane Inspector Pleads Not Guilty

    New York Moves To Defend Gun Law

    Hedge Fund Scammer Tells NY Judge He Tried Suicide

    Murder, Rape Numbers Mar Positive Crime Statistics

    State Slashes 211 Hot Line Budget

    NATIONAL >

    'Paradise Is Burning': Fires Prompt California Evacuations

    U.S. Weighs Guantanamo Transformation

    FARC Hostages Return to America

    McCain Extols Free Trade in Colombia

    Race Profiling Considered In FBI Terrorist Probes

    White House Says Ruling Could Free Detainees in America

    ARTS+ >

    Painting for Eternity: Pietre Dure at the Met

    America's Birth Papers at the NYPL

    Phillip Pearlstein, Objectifying the Nude

    'Tis the Season for Big Bands

    On the Right Track With 'Die Soldaten'

    Marsalis & Nelson Meet in a Bluesy Middle