This is the first in a series of weekly blog posts about New York’s literary scene. I’d like to use my first blog post here at Metro to describe what I will be writing about (and why I will be writing about it.)
Before I came to New York I saw reading as something that was, for the most part, a solitary activity; something you did alone and at best share with a few close and like minded friends. But my attitude changed shortly after moving here when I discovered New York’s literary scene. On any given day you have a choice of events that range from small reading groups in bars to crowded celebrity readings. I have been able to see, listen to, and meet some of my favorite authors and publishers, and I have been involved in some amazing reading groups that I can’t imagine happening elsewhere. (It’s not easy to find ten like-minded people who want to drink and read Proust late into a Friday night outside of a big city.) Here, reading does not have to be a solitary experience, and authors do not have to be impersonal and faceless people who we never see or hear.
I have several reasons for wanting to start this blog. On a practical level I would like to provide readers with information about venues and upcoming events as well as descriptions of past events. New York’s literary scene is wonderful and diverse but it can also be difficult to find out what’s happening. But aside from this practical motivation I would also like to make some record, however small, of New York’s literary scene as it exists today, particularly some of the smaller outlets and events that would normally go unnoticed. To that end, I hope to provide some interviews with the authors, performers, and publishers who make it all happen.
Join me, as we explore together.
