In our post of 17 October 2009, we examined briefly a few experiences with the Kindle, seeking to assess what sort of reading experience use of this device conveyed compared to reading an actual book. We deliberately did not seek to address the question of whether or not the Kindle represented the death of books, since (1) we had already addressed that topic (albeit obliquely) in our posts of 7 and 15 October 2009, and (2) such a topic tends to lead to...overanxiety...in some quarters, as will become apparent shortly.
To set the stage: In 1957, one of the most influential of all 20th century literary magazines made its debut in America. Called The Evergreen Review, it was the first to publish a major collection of works by the so-called Beat Writers, and during its roughly decade and a half of print existence (1957-1973) it consistently published some of the most avant garde, counter-culture writing in America:
In 1998, this much beloved (at least in some quarters) magazine was resurrected in an online-only format by its original publisher, Barney Rosset (once labeled "the most dangerous man in publishing"). And it's back up to its old tricks, tweaking received wisdom from whatever source. Its latest victim: the Kindle.
In a recent article that already has generated a firestorm of indignation in certain quarters, author Alan Kaufman accuses the Kindle of "electronic book burning," and that's among the mildest of the charges that he levels against the device. You can read the entire article here.
What is interesting to this reader is that most of the indignation this article has aroused centers around Kaufman's unfortunate (though deliberately provocative) use of Holocaust metaphors (e.g., "a silent corporate Krystallnacht decimating the world of literacy"), rather than the often valid points that the author makes about print publishing.
We would be interested to hear what our readers think of Kaufman's thesis....
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