Something Between a Manifesto and a Credo

Everyone doing intellectual work today is subject to the reality of discourse. As generated by the rise of online media, particularly social media, this discourse has left writers deracinated and bereft in ways most fail to recognize.

Furthermore, the lack of secure income from writing for periodicals—a development mirrored by the proliferation of small magazines, many of which are excellent—alongside the hollowing out of the academic humanities, means fewer incentives exist to spur deep, insightful work. While some acknowledge this situation, they are unable to change it, whether they be individual writers or an editorial board.

This is the backdrop against which anyone interested in the life of the mind labors. Bereft of institutional support, this Substack dares to engage upon the field regardless, a Quixotic impulse as any that has existed.

There can be no hope of remuneration for the latter-day critic, a situation that can only be alleviated by independent wealth, institutional support, or a network of those that pass for gatekeepers and tastemakers in our current wasteland. (Ideally all three.) Without even one of these, any would-be critic is wasting their time.

Having said all that, what might result from engaging with books and ideas for the sake of doing so—not to build a reputation or a CV or a series of bylines, let alone get invited to parties—but because there might be intrinsic value in the enterprise? This is the question I seek to answer.