I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to free versus pay content. Over the past few months, as I’ve used Twitter more, I’ve seen a lot of musicians tweeting about this—in fact, in its broadest implications, this is a huge issue for anyone involved in the arts. & so, I have a video I’d like to share—a talk by cabaret singer/composer/pianist/uker Amanda Palmer about these very issues; & tho the talk is focused on the music industry, I think some of the general principles apply to online content from other art forms.
By the way, I should note that I was originally put onto this talk thru Twitter by blogger 9to5poet of everything feeds process, an excellent & frequently updated site about the creative process, complete with exercises 9to5poet assigns herself, & the results thereof. You really should check it out; & I also should mention the fiction blog Soulless Machine—another writer I’ve “met” thru Twitter. I know some folks have negative feelings about Twitter, but I'm finding that it has great potential as a networking tool. & I will admit: it took me a while to figure it out at all. The TweetDeck browser really helped.
Hope you enjoy this talk & spend some time thinking about the issues Amanda Palmer raises—& you might consider checking out Amanda Palmer’s brand new release Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele—84 cents or more as a digital download! You know I love all things ukulele.
Pic: Yours Truly & Tip Chick busking at the Council Farmer's Market last August
Happy Wednesday afternoon, all! Just a quick note to mention that my copy of friend Kat Mortensen's book of poetry, shadowstalking, arrived via our friendly neighboorhood UPS man this afternoon. It's a handsome book as you can see (can't say much for the fellow modeling it!)
& you can have your very own copy: they're available for sale at Kat's dedicated shadowstalking blog. Rumor has it that if you contact Kat directly you might get a signed copy.
I wrote about shadowstalkinglast week, & more generally the importance of kicking in something toward the online artists we support, even if their content can be had for free. Simply put: it's the right thing to do.
Hope you’re all having a happy Monday! I’m back this afternoon to announce that my friend—& blogging comrade to many—Kat Mortensen has just published a book of her poetry—it’s titled shadowstalking, & it’s available with just one click on her dedicated shadowstalking blog, as well as on her Poetikat’s Invisible Keepsakes blog.
I’m happy to give Kat’s book a boost—Kat’s poetry is a delight: she frequently writes in form, & she has a great ear for rhyme. Kat’s wit is another of her strong suits—a good thing for a rhyming poet, as it tends to make the rhyme “make sense.” In addition, her formal experiments seem to derive from an underlying sense of play—which to me is the great thing about writing in form! It shouldn’t feel straitened—it should feel like a game.
In addition, Kat has been one of the longest-standing followers of Robert Frost’s Banjo (in the traditional use of the term, as well as in Googlespeak), & she’s one of a core group of followers I’m happy to consider real friends. Kat has been incredibly supportive; when I published my “collected poetical works” this winter, Kat linked to the lulu.com page on her blog; she’s also one of a very select group of people to actually have the complete poetical works of Jack Hayes in her possession!
So this brings me to a thought: so many of us are offering our work online for free—whether that work is poetry or music or photography or essays—etc. What happens when we then decide to bring it forth in the 3-D world? For one thing, there’s often some expense involved to the creator; for a second thing, there’s always a bit of pride in the tangible object. Especially amongst those of us who are solidly into middle age, the tangible object still has a magic reality—we grew up on books & record albums & cds & real glossy photos, & however wired in we may be, there’s still something powerful about the 3-D object. Of course, with that pride, there’s also a certain amount of insecurity—do people actually like what I do enough to plunk down some hard earned cash on it?
There’s a lot of debate about free vs. pay content on the net. I like guitarist Matt Stevens’ “pay what you want” approach to his music, but that's not an option when third parties become involved. & while I believe in free content (after all, my books are available as free pdfs, & I’m publishing the entire contents of The Days of Wine & Roses in blog form), I also believe in supporting people who are actively creating outside the marketed machine of showbix & poebiz.
Happy Thursday, all. In case you’re wondering, the poem at the bottom of this post isn’t new; it was written in May 2008—however, it hasn’t appeared on the blog before. I’m taking this opportunity to post it by way of giving a plug to my own little corner of the poebiz universe, namely my lulu.com poetry page where you can buy the book in which this was published for a mere $8.00 USD—or download it for free as a pdf. The book is called The Spring Ghazals, & it contains poems I wrote between May 2008 & February 2010.
That’s not all, however. There are two other books available at my storefront: The Days of Wine & Roses, which contains poems from my San Francisco days in the 1990s, & Nightingales in a Stateside Zoo, which is made up of the poems I wrote while living in Charlottesville, VA in the 1980s. I know some of you have already purchased or downloaded these, & my heartfelt thanks to you!
Hope you enjoy the poem.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
If memory serves me right it was time for dessert not to mention a beige cottage house baked into a shimmering egg crust this happened so long ago last Thursday or earlier even another lifetime etc. outside the lemon sun gleamed thinly pungent a gray haired mutt was turning circles in the street of course you spoke to it simpatico of course & that street really went no place & that snow wasn’t granulated sugar that snow was salt in everyone involved’s wounds & you were almost gone just then Good - bye good-bye this is something like memory, a late winter’s day oh early afternoon Then I thought I found love & lost it & I thought I found love & lost it walking the floor off-tempo couldn’t eat couldn’t sleep etc. a country song & so forth the years passed as they do pass they were red peonies shedding their petals where Eberle planted them next to the hammock & under the cottonwood not to mention a tune you hear dreaming you can even hum it you wake up the tune is lost inside yourself it’s the red red taste of the best pie you ever ate sad to say that was long long ago last Saturday you were someone else & love was different then a magnolia in February a moonlit railroadcar diner an fm radio dialed far left of the dial & I thought I found love & did like a ’58 Harmony archtop cradled in my arms & my lap & found love & sat lonesome & loved & savoring those last forkfuls of strawberry rhubarb pie Eberle’s baked again & has spooned on a blue blue china plate & you don’t know this however the rhubarb’s growing where now and again a sunset drips syrupy thru the honeysuckle hedge & the thorn tree’s growing there too & that’s all about love after all this Friday & for awhile & nothing’s bitter just now only memory tho memory’s not bitter
