April 15, 1999

The Internet and Writing

Someday, when you feel like embracing the concept of infinity, go on the internet and use a search engine to look for poetry or writing or stories or any sort of literati. Millions upon billions upon googles of sites will be made available to you. How many contain good writing... don't bother removing your socks and shoes.

The rampaging infectious spread of the world wide web has spawned countless numbers of opportunities for bad writers to showcase their work. Unfortunately, as you, the innocent and humble surfer, view these work, bad writing becomes the norm. How can you distinguish the good from the bad when your judgement is skewed so much in one direction?

This is why classes and education and plain old library books are so more important nowadays. These are the source of normals for us to judge and think with. These works have time behind them. People of the past through the present have continued to admire them. So, while Leslie's Lair of Limericks and Sam's Shanty of Sonnets might have each received over 100000 hits, they have not been around long enough to truly be known as great. They might very well be great, and you don't have to wait several decades to find out. Just pull out your Coward, Lear, Shakespeare, and Petrarch to compare them with. Then you will know.

Now you understand why it is that I say that all the poems, stories, essays that make up Diogenes is nothing more than drivel and crap. They just don't compare yet.