from our Founder,
Many of us have experienced the clarity and strength that art, poetry, and storytelling can offer. I cannot count the number of writers who have said, verbatim, “Writing saved my life.”
The reminder that we have a steady companion in writing and other modes of artistic expression is invaluable. Meanwhile, I know it’s been difficult for many writers lately to keep going. There are days when the dreaded “why” arrives. As in “Why create?”
Part of this is a sign of the times—notably, the fast-moving, hazy promises of autogenerated texts from artificial “intelligence” (AI) that may slowly (or quickly) drown out individual voices in favor of a more collective and muted narrative. Books are in danger of being banned by government officials, websites are erased, social media is always shifting, and publishing has become incredibly expensive.
We can accept these shifts as mere change, inevitable, and point out the silver linings (look at all the good that AI offers, for instance), but from the artist’s perspective, if we want to connect and find community, we need to work a little harder to distinguish ourselves. What does that mean?