And this was taken at my 60th birthday celebration at NYC's The Water Club.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Old Photos
These four photos below were taken when I was about 30 years old.
And this was taken at my 60th birthday celebration at NYC's The Water Club.
And this was taken at my 60th birthday celebration at NYC's The Water Club.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The New York Film Festival
I went today to The New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall to see, "Translating Edwin Honig: A Poet's Alzheimer's," a short documentary film by Alan Berliner. It is an excellent, remarkable, and very touching and moving film.
"Remember how to forget. No more."
Edwin Honig: eight poems
A View from the Street
This is a view of the street, looking south, in front of Lincoln Center. My pool is on the top floor of the building on the left. The views all the way up there of the Hudson River are amazing and the sunsets are glorious.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Me and Alice Quinn
In the early 1990s, I submitted many poems for consideration to THE NEW YORKER magazine. They were all rejected. This was a form rejection from Alice Quinn, who until 2007 was the poetry editor of THE NEW YORKER.
I was persistent, and the rejections began to have a personal touch. This was a rejection that was different from the generic form rejection. It was in 1991, and was for my poem, "April's Dance." I wanted to believe that the poem reached the next level and "the decision" then involved several opinions. It filled me with hope because I thought it indicated a few editors wanted to accept and publish my poem.
My notes indicate this rejection was for "Sweating Madness," which originally had the title "Shvitzin' Meshugas." The original poem had a joke about fallopian tubes, but after subsequent changes to that poem the reference was removed. Alice Quinn called my poem, "charming!" Then she added, "Always feel free to try us with your work." This rejection actually said my poem had "evident merit." I was deliriously happy and excited.
This rejection came in 1994 and was for the poem, "Nap Time." Alice Quinn said, "I appreciate seeing your work."
It did not matter that my poems were not accepted. Ms. Quinn validated the merit of my work. And for her grace and kindness, I will always be thankful. Many of the poems that were submitted to THE NEW YORKER appear in the memoir, "marjorie-pentimenti."
I was persistent, and the rejections began to have a personal touch. This was a rejection that was different from the generic form rejection. It was in 1991, and was for my poem, "April's Dance." I wanted to believe that the poem reached the next level and "the decision" then involved several opinions. It filled me with hope because I thought it indicated a few editors wanted to accept and publish my poem.
My notes indicate this rejection was for "Sweating Madness," which originally had the title "Shvitzin' Meshugas." The original poem had a joke about fallopian tubes, but after subsequent changes to that poem the reference was removed. Alice Quinn called my poem, "charming!" Then she added, "Always feel free to try us with your work." This rejection actually said my poem had "evident merit." I was deliriously happy and excited.
This rejection came in 1994 and was for the poem, "Nap Time." Alice Quinn said, "I appreciate seeing your work."
It did not matter that my poems were not accepted. Ms. Quinn validated the merit of my work. And for her grace and kindness, I will always be thankful. Many of the poems that were submitted to THE NEW YORKER appear in the memoir, "marjorie-pentimenti."
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Beyond COLOR: Color in American Photography 1950-1970
Yesterday, I went to the Bruce Silverstein Gallery to view:
Beyond COLOR: Color in American Photography 1950-1970.
Eliot Porter (1901 - 1990)
Marie Cosindas
Pete Turner (b. 1934)
Ruth Orkin (1921 - 1985)
Ernst Hass (1921 - 1986)
Harry Callahan (1912 - 1999)
Inge Morath (1923 - 2002)
Beyond COLOR: Color in American Photography 1950-1970.
Eliot Porter (1901 - 1990)
Marie Cosindas
Pete Turner (b. 1934)
Ruth Orkin (1921 - 1985)
Ernst Hass (1921 - 1986)
Harry Callahan (1912 - 1999)
Inge Morath (1923 - 2002)
A literary tour, Chelsea/Greenwich Village/Morningside Heights
This is from a blog entry of April 2010.
This is 454 West 20th Street, where Jack Kerouac, in 1951, wrote "On The Road."
I stood in front of the door through which he must have passed so many times.
And this is the southwest corner of West 20th Street where: "Dean, ragged in a motheaten overcoat he bought specially for the freezing temperatures of the East, walked off alone..."
"and the last I saw of him he rounded the corner of Seventh Avenue, eyes on the street ahead, and bent to it again."
In her heartfelt memoir, "The Awakener," Helen Weaver writes about her love affair with Jack Kerouac. She met him in November 1956, when at 7:00 on a Sunday morning he arrived with Allen Ginsberg at her apartment in 307 West 11th Street. This is a photo of that building that I took today.
After Helen Weaver viewed the above photo, she told me at her website in her own blog (in a reply to one of my comments) that her "window was on the lefthand side above the picture frame." I had actually taken several photos, so here is one that I believe gives a view of her window... which I think is either right behind the blue bag dangling from that tree or the window to the right of that blue bag. You can see the windows more clearly if you click on the photo to enlarge it.
This is a view of the White Horse Tavern from the front of 307 West 11th Street.
This is now 325 West 13th Street, which is the location where Helen lived when she met Lenny Bruce. I do not know when this building was built... and it looks fairly new. The building where Helen lived may have been torn down for the construction of this newer apartment house.
This is 346 West 15th Street and it is where Allen Ginsberg lived from 1951 to 1952. It is where Jack Kerouac was introduced to Gregory Corso.
And this is a view of the block.
This is 149 West 21st Street and it was where Lucien Carr lived from 1950 to 1951. He and Jack Kerouac were friends and Jack visited him often. Bill Cannastra also lived in a nearby building that is now a parking lot.
And this is a view of the block.
added on January 21, 2010:
This is the front door of 421 West 118th Street, where Jack Kerouac lived with Edie Parker in the early 1940s.
This is 421 West 118th Street.
This is West 118th Street, looking toward Morningside Drive.
This is 454 West 20th Street, where Jack Kerouac, in 1951, wrote "On The Road."
I stood in front of the door through which he must have passed so many times.
And this is the southwest corner of West 20th Street where: "Dean, ragged in a motheaten overcoat he bought specially for the freezing temperatures of the East, walked off alone..."
"and the last I saw of him he rounded the corner of Seventh Avenue, eyes on the street ahead, and bent to it again."
In her heartfelt memoir, "The Awakener," Helen Weaver writes about her love affair with Jack Kerouac. She met him in November 1956, when at 7:00 on a Sunday morning he arrived with Allen Ginsberg at her apartment in 307 West 11th Street. This is a photo of that building that I took today.
After Helen Weaver viewed the above photo, she told me at her website in her own blog (in a reply to one of my comments) that her "window was on the lefthand side above the picture frame." I had actually taken several photos, so here is one that I believe gives a view of her window... which I think is either right behind the blue bag dangling from that tree or the window to the right of that blue bag. You can see the windows more clearly if you click on the photo to enlarge it.
This is a view of the White Horse Tavern from the front of 307 West 11th Street.
This is now 325 West 13th Street, which is the location where Helen lived when she met Lenny Bruce. I do not know when this building was built... and it looks fairly new. The building where Helen lived may have been torn down for the construction of this newer apartment house.
This is 346 West 15th Street and it is where Allen Ginsberg lived from 1951 to 1952. It is where Jack Kerouac was introduced to Gregory Corso.
And this is a view of the block.
This is 149 West 21st Street and it was where Lucien Carr lived from 1950 to 1951. He and Jack Kerouac were friends and Jack visited him often. Bill Cannastra also lived in a nearby building that is now a parking lot.
And this is a view of the block.
added on January 21, 2010:
This is the front door of 421 West 118th Street, where Jack Kerouac lived with Edie Parker in the early 1940s.
This is 421 West 118th Street.
This is West 118th Street, looking toward Morningside Drive.
Walking Sideways on a Spiral Staircase
After I retired, I wrote pieces on education that were published as "Letters" in THE NEW YORK SUN. I was looking through the clippings the other day, and although the collection is too extensive to repost here, I am going to cull a few blurbs from selected articles I wrote and retype them for this blog.
from: "When Students Run the Show," 1/2-4/04 I can recall a beginning teacher who crafted creative, fine lessons. But classroom management was difficult for her and she could have used some administrative guidance and support in the handling of her class. One day, a second grader in her class slammed a closet door into her back and then ran away and laughed. She brought him to the principal and later it was she who received a disciplinary letter! In the principal's office, the child had been interviewed about the teacher's performance and his misbehavior was blamed on the teacher's weak behavior modification program.
from: "The Stepford Teachers," 7/20/04 ... a discussion of the problems in the New York City schools has "jumped the shark." The 2 1/2 hour (reading) block is so micromanaged that it includes prepared dialogue for the instruction of the children. When teachers help students choose a "just right" nonfiction book, they are told what to say in order to model thinking.... But, experienced traditional teachers would consider this learning model to be a major farce, where education has moved into the surreal world of "The Stepford Wives." As more time passes, the articles on education seem to have deteriorated into redundant pieces "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
from: "Going Back to Basics," 8/11/04 (re: phonics replaced by phonemic awareness) I am not surprised that classrooms filled with fascinating leveled libraries (with books grouped by genre) are not motivating students. If you never learned to play chess and some benefactor filled your home with the most expensive and beautiful sets, would you not first have to learn, step by step, how to to play the game?
from: "The Turning Tide," 8/24/04 During my 34 years as a NYC teacher, I have seen some pretty ludicrous letters written by principals for teachers' files. One teacher was written up for "teaching with two handbags on (her) arm." She also was reprimanded for replying "I'll try" when directed to handle a class. The principal stated that her response did not meet the accountability for a New York City scool (sic) teacher!" And the latest tactic is to accuse teachers who "yell" of corporal punishment.
from: "The Spin Doctors," 10/06 At almost the end of my 34 year long teaching career, I was directed to change the seating arrangement in my classroom from rows to groups and (to) develop an atmosphere of "productive noise" and (to) construct mini-lessons. The new "balanced literacy" model was filled with layered components and the classroom was mandated to have visual and heady appeal. A student shortly pleaded to "go back to the old way of learning" which was a more no-frills and basic textbook approach. I discussed this with my supervisor and I was told it was my fault the students didn't like the new style. I had not properly motivated the students or successfully implemented the model.
And I was a teacher whose classes during instruction and learning were so quiet, visitors to the room "could hear a pin drop!" Parents requested placement with me because I was known as one of the teachers who could handle a sixth grade class, and the work I gave was very much admired. I stopped writing on education one bleak day when I finally thought: "Stick a fork in me, I am done!"
from: "When Students Run the Show," 1/2-4/04 I can recall a beginning teacher who crafted creative, fine lessons. But classroom management was difficult for her and she could have used some administrative guidance and support in the handling of her class. One day, a second grader in her class slammed a closet door into her back and then ran away and laughed. She brought him to the principal and later it was she who received a disciplinary letter! In the principal's office, the child had been interviewed about the teacher's performance and his misbehavior was blamed on the teacher's weak behavior modification program.
from: "The Stepford Teachers," 7/20/04 ... a discussion of the problems in the New York City schools has "jumped the shark." The 2 1/2 hour (reading) block is so micromanaged that it includes prepared dialogue for the instruction of the children. When teachers help students choose a "just right" nonfiction book, they are told what to say in order to model thinking.... But, experienced traditional teachers would consider this learning model to be a major farce, where education has moved into the surreal world of "The Stepford Wives." As more time passes, the articles on education seem to have deteriorated into redundant pieces "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
from: "Going Back to Basics," 8/11/04 (re: phonics replaced by phonemic awareness) I am not surprised that classrooms filled with fascinating leveled libraries (with books grouped by genre) are not motivating students. If you never learned to play chess and some benefactor filled your home with the most expensive and beautiful sets, would you not first have to learn, step by step, how to to play the game?
from: "The Turning Tide," 8/24/04 During my 34 years as a NYC teacher, I have seen some pretty ludicrous letters written by principals for teachers' files. One teacher was written up for "teaching with two handbags on (her) arm." She also was reprimanded for replying "I'll try" when directed to handle a class. The principal stated that her response did not meet the accountability for a New York City scool (sic) teacher!" And the latest tactic is to accuse teachers who "yell" of corporal punishment.
from: "The Spin Doctors," 10/06 At almost the end of my 34 year long teaching career, I was directed to change the seating arrangement in my classroom from rows to groups and (to) develop an atmosphere of "productive noise" and (to) construct mini-lessons. The new "balanced literacy" model was filled with layered components and the classroom was mandated to have visual and heady appeal. A student shortly pleaded to "go back to the old way of learning" which was a more no-frills and basic textbook approach. I discussed this with my supervisor and I was told it was my fault the students didn't like the new style. I had not properly motivated the students or successfully implemented the model.
And I was a teacher whose classes during instruction and learning were so quiet, visitors to the room "could hear a pin drop!" Parents requested placement with me because I was known as one of the teachers who could handle a sixth grade class, and the work I gave was very much admired. I stopped writing on education one bleak day when I finally thought: "Stick a fork in me, I am done!"
"Ours to Fight For"
from the Museum of Jewish Heritage:
Ours to Fight For: American Jews In the Second World War
November 11, 2003 - December 31, 2006
"The inaugural exhibition for the Robert M. Morgenthau wing, Ours To Fight For: American Jews in the Second World War was named the grand-prize winner of the Excellence in Exhibition Competition at the American Association of Museums Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Citing the exhibition's use of the first-person narrative, the judges felt this approach engaged museum visitors and allowed them to make connections with the experiences of soldiers 60 years ago and troops serving today. The exhibition companion volume, Ours To Fight For: American Jewish Voices from the Second World War, chronicles the experience of American Jewish men and women who came together with other Americans to heed their nation's call to arms."
A photo of my father, dressed in his army uniform, was part of the wall filled with photos of Jewish soldiers who fought for their country during WWII. The display looked out to the Statue of Liberty. It was a very moving exhibit.
www.ourstofightfor.org/index.jsp
OURSTOFIGHTFOR
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
You've Got to Have Friends
This was taken a few years ago on Las Olas Boulevard in Florida. Renee looks marvelous, doesn't she? I love the leopard jacket I was wearing.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
SlushPile Hell: Pathetic Madness
OK... take a look at this: SlushPile Hell. Yikes and yow!
There is nothing posted at that "amusing" website to indicate that the query lines included in SPH are written by the anonymous blogger for the purpose of satire. So, my opinion is based on the belief that the sarcastic blog is written by an actual literary agent who has posted truthful and unedited snippets from authentic queries s/he has received and has then written sarcastic comments designed to ridicule those query lines.
Based on no posted statement that the blog is totally an imaginative creative endeavor for the purpose of comedy... my opinion is that the blog, SlushPile Hell, is unethical. And it serves to diminish the professional integrity of the blogger. I think it represents a total breakdown of professional standards.
Most agencies care about their public image and how this type of activity may reflect on a standard of excellence many agencies have firmly in place. I do not think the President of an agency would support an employee's personal agenda on the internet (during the work day?) which could reflect badly on the company.
And there is a larger picture. If the SPH blogger did not receive permission from the writers to post those query snippets, aren't the pieces of the sent queries that are being ridiculed at that blog under an umbrella of privacy protection within the agency? It may not be within that agent’s legal right to even post those snippets that s/he receives (as an employee of the agency) to a personal blog. I would think that the lines posted are part of privileged communications. They are not his/her personal property. All sorts of issues should cause concern. I do not think it matters that the snippets are posted with no names attached. I would be worried about litigation if the targets in that site are remotely identifiable by any other indicators. The flip side of that is really funny. It could be copyright infringement or plagiarism (using quotes without giving credit to the authors of the material being used)! Yes, writers should be able to handle harsh criticism of their work, but there is something very wrong when the ridicule is coming from a person to whom the material was sent for the possible purpose of representing that work.
How do you think those query senders would feel if they saw parts of their queries insulted for the amusement of an internet audience? You don't think they would be hurt or humiliated or mortified? They are filled with hope and they may want to send the same query to many agents. How would their chances for representation be damaged if another agent read the blog and then recognized a line ridiculed at the blog in a query s/he received? There seems to be no question that it damages the query sender's chances of getting another agent. He has been designated a joke.
This internet snark has all gone too far and I wanted to address the particular matter. There are no limits, no boundaries, and everybody crosses a line in attempts to bring on the funny. Everybody is a wannabe comic. The internet is a real cesspool where anybody can put on a mask and anonymously go for the jugular. Here's a strong head's up: "Tell us who hates us!" from the NY Daily News, July 22, 2010.
After writing this... I should worry, I suppose. I sense a real fear out there among writers. They become lemmings in comments. Very few writers will be vocal and say it just isn't right. I wonder why.
Can we all say: BLACKLIST. Put me on the top of that blacklist. I would be honored because I choose my issues carefully. I wrote "Going for the Jugular." If there is a 'blacklist," I am already on it. LMAO. I bet the same people who participate in any active blacklisting would be the first to support the Hollywood Ten. LMAO redux.
The anonymous blogger states,"If you don’t find it amusing, go back to reading I Can Haz Cheezburger." No thank-you. I prefer the wit of S. J. Perelman, H. L. Mencken, and James Thurber.
This photo is from about 1989. Look at the way my classroom was decorated. I posted the old themed "feelings are important" cut-outs! You can see them on the left. Twitter, and Facebook, and texting, and ears attached 24/7 to cellphones, or iPods, and all that other nonsense makes me feel like life has "jumped the shark." Oh, how I long for Willoughby. I feel like I am living in a morph of what human interactions should be.
Here's an afterthought: The agent today announced a contest on Twitter. She wrote: "Submit your entry for THE WORST TITLE FOR A CHILDREN'S BOOK. Hashtag #badkiddybooks." I should have entered the title, "Playground Bullying for Dummies." I might have won.
afterthoughts, added 9/3/10:
E-mail query submissions to literary agents may be protected under the ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT of 1986. Literary agencies with websites in place that allow electronic query submissions through E-mails might need to have a privacy policy link at the website which clearly defines their policy regarding any content of the E-mail submission that may be shared with a third party... (the "third party" perhaps being an internet audience for whatever the agenda.)
Fair use does not cover material received as an employee under stated submission guidelines and then turned around and used on the internet for a totally different PURPOSE, which is (arguably) criticism.
The writer has to agree to that purpose and a release for that agenda has to appear on the website and agreed to before a submission is sent. You can’t send material to a BUSINESS for one purpose (hopeful acceptance for representation) and then have it used by an employee for his PERSONAL agenda (criticism). Queries are sent for possible representation, not for criticism (which at SPH is ridicule). So if that is how they will be used, agencies need to post that as a DISCLOSURE under the submission guidelines.
Also, queries are NOT personal letters or journals that are being published. They are electronic correspondence received by an EMPLOYEE within the submission guidelines posted at the agency’s website. If the agency is going to use those E-mails and share them with a third party on the internet for another agenda… they have to state that at the agency website I would think.
Regarding: “…. that quotations from unpublished personal letters and journals might constitute fair use.”
Again, they are NOT personal letters or journals, they are electronic submissions for representation. They are sent to an employee (the agent) who is receiving those E-mails within the guidelines for submission set by his employer. They are not sent to his personal E-mail address. Then, it could possibly be arguable. They are sent to: SUBMISSIONS (at) AGENCY NAME (dot) com. The agent may not have any right to the fair use of any part of those E-mails because they are the PROPERTY of his employer once they are received. Has his employer consented to their “fair” use?
And the publication of them, without a disclaimer or written policy in place at the agency websites, may be a breach and may be litigious. If the agency, after receiving electronic queries intends to publish parts of those queries on the internet for the purpose of criticism (which if looked at objectively would be called sarcastic ridicule), they have to post that intent in their privacy policy at the website. The sender probably checked no release and agreed. THAT is why some agencies now have RELEASES in place. Does the agency of SPH have a release in place that states those queries can by used for that specific agenda of criticism? If the writer does not agree, it is DUPLICITOUS.
Many agencies have a clause FOR THEIR PROTECTION which you have to agree to before you electronically submit anything at all. Does SPH’s agency have any release in place that allows agents to use query snippets on the internet for a personal agenda? Is there a release in place that states pieces of the queries may be used on the internet for the purpose of “criticism?” Without the sender clicking on a release or signing a release and consenting…. the entire legality of SPH can be challenged and a precedent set for similar activity.
My name is not brevity…
Oh well, it took me thousands of words to actually say what could have been said in one sentence: This is not a LEGAL issue anyway, it is one of professional ETHICS…. And, in my opinion a president of a reputable agency would fire an agent that he employed who created that site if he discovered that queries were being used as fodder for a personal agenda. It sort of makes a mockery of the whole process.
There is nothing posted at that "amusing" website to indicate that the query lines included in SPH are written by the anonymous blogger for the purpose of satire. So, my opinion is based on the belief that the sarcastic blog is written by an actual literary agent who has posted truthful and unedited snippets from authentic queries s/he has received and has then written sarcastic comments designed to ridicule those query lines.
Based on no posted statement that the blog is totally an imaginative creative endeavor for the purpose of comedy... my opinion is that the blog, SlushPile Hell, is unethical. And it serves to diminish the professional integrity of the blogger. I think it represents a total breakdown of professional standards.
Most agencies care about their public image and how this type of activity may reflect on a standard of excellence many agencies have firmly in place. I do not think the President of an agency would support an employee's personal agenda on the internet (during the work day?) which could reflect badly on the company.
And there is a larger picture. If the SPH blogger did not receive permission from the writers to post those query snippets, aren't the pieces of the sent queries that are being ridiculed at that blog under an umbrella of privacy protection within the agency? It may not be within that agent’s legal right to even post those snippets that s/he receives (as an employee of the agency) to a personal blog. I would think that the lines posted are part of privileged communications. They are not his/her personal property. All sorts of issues should cause concern. I do not think it matters that the snippets are posted with no names attached. I would be worried about litigation if the targets in that site are remotely identifiable by any other indicators. The flip side of that is really funny. It could be copyright infringement or plagiarism (using quotes without giving credit to the authors of the material being used)! Yes, writers should be able to handle harsh criticism of their work, but there is something very wrong when the ridicule is coming from a person to whom the material was sent for the possible purpose of representing that work.
How do you think those query senders would feel if they saw parts of their queries insulted for the amusement of an internet audience? You don't think they would be hurt or humiliated or mortified? They are filled with hope and they may want to send the same query to many agents. How would their chances for representation be damaged if another agent read the blog and then recognized a line ridiculed at the blog in a query s/he received? There seems to be no question that it damages the query sender's chances of getting another agent. He has been designated a joke.
This internet snark has all gone too far and I wanted to address the particular matter. There are no limits, no boundaries, and everybody crosses a line in attempts to bring on the funny. Everybody is a wannabe comic. The internet is a real cesspool where anybody can put on a mask and anonymously go for the jugular. Here's a strong head's up: "Tell us who hates us!" from the NY Daily News, July 22, 2010.
After writing this... I should worry, I suppose. I sense a real fear out there among writers. They become lemmings in comments. Very few writers will be vocal and say it just isn't right. I wonder why.
Can we all say: BLACKLIST. Put me on the top of that blacklist. I would be honored because I choose my issues carefully. I wrote "Going for the Jugular." If there is a 'blacklist," I am already on it. LMAO. I bet the same people who participate in any active blacklisting would be the first to support the Hollywood Ten. LMAO redux.
The anonymous blogger states,"If you don’t find it amusing, go back to reading I Can Haz Cheezburger." No thank-you. I prefer the wit of S. J. Perelman, H. L. Mencken, and James Thurber.
This photo is from about 1989. Look at the way my classroom was decorated. I posted the old themed "feelings are important" cut-outs! You can see them on the left. Twitter, and Facebook, and texting, and ears attached 24/7 to cellphones, or iPods, and all that other nonsense makes me feel like life has "jumped the shark." Oh, how I long for Willoughby. I feel like I am living in a morph of what human interactions should be.
Here's an afterthought: The agent today announced a contest on Twitter. She wrote: "Submit your entry for THE WORST TITLE FOR A CHILDREN'S BOOK. Hashtag #badkiddybooks." I should have entered the title, "Playground Bullying for Dummies." I might have won.
afterthoughts, added 9/3/10:
E-mail query submissions to literary agents may be protected under the ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT of 1986. Literary agencies with websites in place that allow electronic query submissions through E-mails might need to have a privacy policy link at the website which clearly defines their policy regarding any content of the E-mail submission that may be shared with a third party... (the "third party" perhaps being an internet audience for whatever the agenda.)
Fair use does not cover material received as an employee under stated submission guidelines and then turned around and used on the internet for a totally different PURPOSE, which is (arguably) criticism.
The writer has to agree to that purpose and a release for that agenda has to appear on the website and agreed to before a submission is sent. You can’t send material to a BUSINESS for one purpose (hopeful acceptance for representation) and then have it used by an employee for his PERSONAL agenda (criticism). Queries are sent for possible representation, not for criticism (which at SPH is ridicule). So if that is how they will be used, agencies need to post that as a DISCLOSURE under the submission guidelines.
Also, queries are NOT personal letters or journals that are being published. They are electronic correspondence received by an EMPLOYEE within the submission guidelines posted at the agency’s website. If the agency is going to use those E-mails and share them with a third party on the internet for another agenda… they have to state that at the agency website I would think.
Regarding: “…. that quotations from unpublished personal letters and journals might constitute fair use.”
Again, they are NOT personal letters or journals, they are electronic submissions for representation. They are sent to an employee (the agent) who is receiving those E-mails within the guidelines for submission set by his employer. They are not sent to his personal E-mail address. Then, it could possibly be arguable. They are sent to: SUBMISSIONS (at) AGENCY NAME (dot) com. The agent may not have any right to the fair use of any part of those E-mails because they are the PROPERTY of his employer once they are received. Has his employer consented to their “fair” use?
And the publication of them, without a disclaimer or written policy in place at the agency websites, may be a breach and may be litigious. If the agency, after receiving electronic queries intends to publish parts of those queries on the internet for the purpose of criticism (which if looked at objectively would be called sarcastic ridicule), they have to post that intent in their privacy policy at the website. The sender probably checked no release and agreed. THAT is why some agencies now have RELEASES in place. Does the agency of SPH have a release in place that states those queries can by used for that specific agenda of criticism? If the writer does not agree, it is DUPLICITOUS.
Many agencies have a clause FOR THEIR PROTECTION which you have to agree to before you electronically submit anything at all. Does SPH’s agency have any release in place that allows agents to use query snippets on the internet for a personal agenda? Is there a release in place that states pieces of the queries may be used on the internet for the purpose of “criticism?” Without the sender clicking on a release or signing a release and consenting…. the entire legality of SPH can be challenged and a precedent set for similar activity.
My name is not brevity…
Oh well, it took me thousands of words to actually say what could have been said in one sentence: This is not a LEGAL issue anyway, it is one of professional ETHICS…. And, in my opinion a president of a reputable agency would fire an agent that he employed who created that site if he discovered that queries were being used as fodder for a personal agenda. It sort of makes a mockery of the whole process.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
On July 4th, 2010
On July 4th, I went to my pool to view the fireworks. The indoor pool is on the 44th floor of a Manhattan building and the views are incredible. It is surrounded by an outdoor patio. We watched the glorious sun set in an orange sky over the Hudson River. And when the fireworks began, we were so high up the flashes of color were eye level.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
I try a "cut-up"
I went yesterday to the New Museum to see Brion Gysin: Dream Machine. And today, I tried a cut-up. Well, maybe it turned out to be just a collage.
These are some photos I took at the museum.
These are some photos I took at the museum.
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