We've got time for one more quick question, just a couple
more minutes.
Anybody want to jump in?
Yeah.
Well, we're talking about [INAUDIBLE]..
What would you do about the digital divide?
You say publication is getting the word out and getting
more stuff seeing when we're talking
about all this digital stuff.
But what about the people who can't access or don't
know to access?
These two gentlemen might have something somewhat different
to say.
But I feel like--
or just kind of a different frame.
But when I think about it, I mean
to be honest I'm not as immersed in digital publication.
I'm much more immersed in print publication, it's what we do.
But I am glad that the idea of cultural class came up.
And I would even go further.
I think it is, in many ways, about socioeconomic class.
And that there is space in poetry, certainly small press
poetry, [? symposium ?] poetry to try to think,
I don't know, outside of capitalism in some way.
That's one of the reasons I'm personally
attracted to it, that it can probe a little bit at it.
And the thing about the digital divide
is that even if you have a computer,
even if you have access to the internet, what we're not saying
is that there's an education level and there's leisure time.
Many people just can't spend all their time
either reading a print book or surfing around online.
They don't have a job that gives them time to Facebook.
And I think that's something that's
going to be hard for poetry, has always been hard for poetry.
Poetry has always been something that a lot
of radical, political people have connected with poetry.
At the same time, literacy has always belonged to the few,
until very recently.
And there's still huge numbers of illiterate people.
I think that tension is just something that poetry kind
of lives with all the time.
And the best that I feel I can do
is just try to be cognizant of the kinds of things that
are operating to enforce that kind of structure,
to keep people from having more leisure time.
The kind of corporate forces, and state forces
that make it very difficult.
Even though we're I'm deeply complicit.
And I'm sure we're all deeply complicit in these things.
But to try to develop a consciousness that these things
are operating in our society.
I mean, I've give an example.
It's just a really small one.
But as Andrew was saying, I think
there's intervention into places online
where we put some writing on Amazon, for instance, is great.
And I think he would very much agree that, at the same time,
you have to think about the fact that this
is a giant commercial behemoth that has legal language that
goes on about 18 pages, that makes your review that you put
up there theirs.
They own it.
So when you write it, you actually give up your rights.
So in a very small way, and you know,
it's just really a metaphor.
But if you think about other ways
that rights have been given up by different people,
by the way certain classes get oppressed,
I think there are interesting illuminating parallels.
And there's deep skepticism that one
needs, approaching, certainly in commercial enterprises
and nonprofit enterprises too, which
are funded by the government.
And there's a lot of structures around that.
So I don't know.
I don't think it really answers the question.
It's an unanswerable question.
But yeah, I think it's very important
to think about how what we operate in
is part of that larger social fabric and that social problem.
There's a lot more people than us.
I think the way I would address the digital divide
and would recommend most people do
is to support your local public library.
Those people are getting their funding cut
like you would not believe.
Because people think that because, you know,
everybody has the internet, that nobody
needs the library anymore.
And I can tell you from personal experience
that there are an enormous number of people
who the only internet access they have is that the library.
The only access they have to reading material
is at the library.
The libraries need your support like you can't believe.
Do something for your library.
Support them.
Write a letter to your Congressman.
Do anything you can.
The libraries are one of many possible solutions
to bridging the digital divide.
As is the UA Poetry Center.
You see.
So advocating for libraries is a good way
to wrap up our talk about the internet.