The Manifesto on the Manifesto

Greetings, comrade. The purpose of this Manifesto of Manifestos is to educate the working class about the importance - and dangers - of the mass media industry. Originally published before any of its contents made sense, the revived Manifesto now preaches to an audience that understands terms such as "television," "Internet," and "passive consumerism." Each section of the Work relates a tale, musing, or observation organized into numbered groups, each with a more-or-less self-descriptive title. These sections generally begin with a reference to a lost tome, generally thought to be Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, Boston, MA. Copyright 2011). So, read on, my citizens, and hear the stories of a society increasingly dependent on cheesy Communist references.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

1.) The Manifesto on the Importance of Being Nice to People who are Looking to Buy Your Books

"Reporters are responsible only for adhering to the tradition of the trade - 'getting the facts.'"

I have spent the past three days working at and attending the 6th Annual Burlington Book Festival, most of which was held at Main Street Landing - distractingly pictured directly above. At the moment, I am worn out, burned out, and hungry. The only food I’ve had today was an Oreo, a handful of Goldfish, and a small, unfinished lunch. I missed dinner, am down about seventy bucks from buying books, and can’t wait to go to bed. And yet, this has been one of the best weekends of my life. I met and spoke in depth to numerous respected writers in several genres. One of them wants me to call him. Another told me I asked a question that he has always wanted to be asked, but has never, over the course of countless interviews, been asked. And a third even remembered my name. Just speaking to writers who have won awards from obscure, genre-specific commendations, to the Pulitzer Prize has blown me away. One of them had three movies made from his books. Another followed the cartooning path I sometimes wish I could have taken. A widely published comedy writer asked me to sit next to him while he was signing books. How awesome is that? We talked about linguistics – a mutual interest – and the importance of reading. We even discovered we have a favorite author in common – Steven Pinker. And every writer was very friendly.

As an aspiring writer, I was so touched that these busy people would take time out of their lives to answer a couple questions from someone they had never met, nor ever would again. I will always cherish the books they signed. And, even though I am beyond frazzled right now, I am overjoyed that I had this rare opportunity. I even had a brownie inside a crêpe. That was a food experience that could only have been better had the fact that it took forty minutes to arrive not prevented me from seeing a talk I’d been looking forward to since I first heard about it. Mais, c’est la vie, en?


Media has converged here.


(Photo: Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, where most of the festivities took place. Courtesy of http://www.burlingtonbookfestival.com/)

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