Lacking even an iota of Britishness, I’m clearly the odd one out in the echelons of BritLitBlogs. But my involvement does underline how misleading it is to talk about English-language websites in too specific geographic terms. The audience is, without question, worldwide.
Now that I’ve been a member of the Splinters team for a few months, maybe I should stop to consider my developing identity as a weblogger. I’m still very much struggling to find a comfortable voice: most of my recent output has consisted either of writing-by-numbers fare or raw working notes (esp. the Bresson stuff). My style is far too uneven, prone to stale phrases, mindless repetitions and all sorts of grammatical errors. But I really don’t mind if I come across as awkward, overzealous and frequently erroneous, because I certainly am all of those things.
As a form, the weblog interests me because of its malleability and inbuilt momentariness (see also Waggish). Anyone is free to explore the archives, of course, but the illusion of impermanence is very liberating. In the best-case scenario, the unpolished style becomes polished over time, with the transition taking place in full view of the readership.
I plan to post at least once a week, and my future blog entries will probably fall under one of two categories. The first one will consist of single posts about singular works of art, while the second category will be of the “remaindered links” variety. All the entries are going to be driven by my personal obsessions and fascinations.
The strength of weblogs is in the passion and precision that individual voices bring to literary discussion. (Passion without precision: a poetaster. Precision without passion: a pedant.) The fresh perspectives challenge the dryness of the cultural mainstream. As Steve Aylett said in an 3am Magazine interview:
“You know you read these people who say - England produced this writer. I really hate that. No, I did it despite everything England chucked at me, and despite the fact that England was a fucking desert.”
Literary weblogs and online zines can show that there’s still some life left in the desert.
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