Fungible Convictions

Boston is home to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Musuem, one of the coolest pre-modern museums around.

Gardner, who lived a ridiculous life of travel, intrigue, and general hobnobbing, amassed an enourmous collection of world art as if she were a Spanish explorer and devout mercantilist. And then she decorated her mansion with it all. The Gardner Museum is that mansion, largely untouched since Gardner’s death in 1924.

Today I checked it out for the first time. While you can see for yourself the kind of lovingly preserved art the museum displays, it was an affirmation for me that I’m a terrible museum-goer—mainly because I like the living people more than the painted ones. I like hearing people’s reactions to the pieces (reactions that today were often, well, really rather dirty—thanks for that comment on the Virgin Mary’s boob) and trying to figure out how it is that this many not-retired people have this much time in the middle of a weekday to go to a museum.

Not including me.

Words on the Web:
The State and Future of Electronic / Online Publishing

Tuesday, September 6th
12:30 – 1:30
in the Houghton Mifflin Miller Room, 7th Floor

A discussion with . . .

David Jost, VP & Director of Electronic Publishing, Houghton Mifflin
R. Morgan Frank, Poetry Editor, and Robert Arnold, Fiction Editor,
Memorious.org

Come speak with David Jost, who puts HM’s best out on the web (and among many achievements, is the actual voice of the online American Heritage dictionary!) and Morgan Frank & Robert Arnold, who are living the dream of starting their own literary journal in a pioneering new format.

How does literature work online? Are we moving too fast into this new format — or never fast enough? Is there a new audiences yet to be reached off the book shelf and on the computer screen? What about starting up an online literary journal — how has Memorious.org succeeded in a crowded field? And how intimately does the world of online publishing meet with the world of traditional book publishing — does each form need the other or will there be lasting tensions? What about Blogs & online magazines like Salon.com, and live journals, where should we find the writers of the future? And, how would a YPG-er go about moving careers into this exciting, growing field?

Join us with your own questions! And as always:

–Mingle with other young-to-the-industry professionals!
–Eat home-baked cookies!
–Swap books! Bring one from your list and take on from another!
–Voice your opinions about the state of the industry & the future of YPG Boston