I’m hearing word around the internet that Alt-Lit is making a comeback. As with anything on the internet, I can’t tell if it’s a joke or not, but it seems sincere. In fact, sincerity seems to be the mode of a lot of these Instagram accounts. Check out @taolincellectuals to get an idea of what I mean.
Tao Lin, speaking of, has a new book coming out on August 3rd called Leave Society. I put in a request for it at NetGalley, so we’ll see if I can grab that one early. Alt-Lit is kind of funny in that while it was going on I found it really insufferable while it was going on, even though I had a lot of time for its major authors. I liked Lin, for example. I did readings at Housing Works with Sam Pink and Scott McClanahan, who I think are both great. Megan Boyle was great. Noah Cicero was great, and a nice person. Cameron Pierce was and is still one of my best buds. Seidlinger is great. Juliet Escoria was maybe the best of the bunch.
HTMLGiant was awesome. I used to go to that site daily. I think it’s back now.
But there was also a lot of not great stuff, too. A lot.
So I guess all of that is to say I’m approaching Alt-Lit 2.0 and all of the “cellectuals” accounts on Instagram with an open mind. Anything to get out of the stagnation of modern publishing. New blood. New ideas. Hopefully new styles. It could be an exciting time.
Broken River Blog 