In Case You Missed It, Fame Was Bestowed…

…upon Wide Array in the January issue of D Magazine, the popular Dallas mag. Check out the online version here.

Should All Writers Join The Guild Strike?

The Writer’s Guild of America strike is often simply referred to as the Writer’s strike in the media. That insinuates all writers, not just radio, film, and TV writers, should be on strike. I’m not part of the Guild, but I do write prose, and a lot of others who aren’t part of the Guild write prose. Should we all join the strike?

Think about it. If we really want to bring the entertainment industry to its knees, maybe Martin Amis should hold back his latest novel from the masses. What would people read instead? Or think of the torturous circumstances resulting from Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, Russian translators, stopping the presses on their newest English translation.

And me? You might have noticed I’ve not posted here in a while; it’s not because I’m busy or lazy (though I’m both), but because I was testing out the strike waters--and found them warm and cozy. So I say, power to the pen-pushers. Write to your congressmen. Or better yet, don’t.

Why Daniel Held Me Over a Balcony Railing

First, here’s what the New York Tribune-Postal reported:

“Wide Array publisher Daniel Reid was standing on a Karrion Hotel balcony Sunday, waving to fans below, when he suddenly turned and disappeared into his hotel room, returning skant [sic] moments later with business partner Jarrod Harelik in tow, whom he then dangled over the railing of the balcony, causing an uproar from the sizable group of witnesses. Harelik’s head was cloaked with what appeared to be a silken fabric of great value, and his legs kicked wildly beneath him, as if he were furiously searching for ground to rest his sacred and weary feet upon.”

Now here’s the truth of the matter: The fabric draped over my head was not silk. It was just a hotel towel of indeterminate worth. It was probably worth very little, in fact, as those towels are probably stolen all the time, and I imagine little things like that add up and eventually affect the bottom line. Hm, that’s something to think about for Wide Array--the little things. How much tape do I waste when I’m packing up copies of Upstart Crows to ship to adoring readers? I’ll use less tape from now on.

Incidentally, those fans at the hotel were not ours; Hillary Swank was in the hotel room directly under ours. Both Daniel and I were cited for disorderly conduct but let off with a warning.

Is My Business Partner PURE EVIL?

At some point during every business partnership, a businessman must look at his partner and decide if said partner is pure evil. This is better than the sole proprietor, who is stuck looking into his own soul. Still, judging others is never easy. And since Wide Array is a partnership, I, Jarrod Harelik, must selflessly look outside myself and scrutinize my business partner, Daniel Reid, and wonder if perhaps I have made a huge mistake.

I know what you’re thinking: How does one define evil? Conversely, what is good? Is good truly the opposite of evil? And if so, why did I, during an oral psychological assessment, respond to the statement evil by shouting out Knieval?Indeed, is God dead, or could he just be sleeping?

Should one let sleeping gods lie?

Sometimes nothing makes sense, as you’re probably thinking right now. I suppose I can’t claim that Daniel possesses any evil qualities at all. Yes, he eats meat,while I am a raw vegan.Yes, he’s got a perfect wife and daughter, and all I’ve got is a diseased alley rat I call Bin. And sure, Daniel has a pointy tail and forked tongue, and breathes fire, but then pobody’s nerfect.

See what I did?

What John Hughes Can Teach Eager Artists

Wide Array, the tiny publishing company I started with a friend, is constantly looking for ways to stand out. In a world where art and business must not only get along but prosper, what are the best chances of success? Well, here’s something I discovered recently as I was contemplating several of film director John Hughes’s storylines:

Ferris Bueller's Day Off-- teen wants to stay home, then go out
Home Alone-- kid wants to stay home, alone
Dutch-- kid wants to go home
Uncle Buck-- teen wants to go home
National Lampoon's Vacation-- family wants to go out
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles-- guy wants to go home
Baby's Day Out-- kid wants to go out
Curly Sue-- kid wants a home
Mr. Mom-- guy doesn't want to stay home

So what does this tell us about art and business? I, for one, have no idea.

The Sanity Factor

Maybe we’re insane. Maybe starting a publishing company these days is a foolish thing to do. But then, we’re two guys who majored in English in college. We’re two guys who still read books. There aren’t a lot of us left. So, if the ship is sinking, I guess we’ve decided to hang around on deck and salute.

It’s not all bad. After all, Wide Array is currently pulling in hundreds of dollars a year. So we’re not exactly hurting for money; in fact, the pain has stopped all together--it’s more of a dull sensation now. We can live with that.

And, really, the situation is not so hopeless. Maybe the stuff we publish will even inspire people to read. If not paper books, maybe interest will be piqued by the new Amazon Kindle--that new techno-gadget that holds 200 books and lets you download from a choice of like a gazillion.

We can play that game. But for now, paper remains alongside technology, and Wide Array will hover perilously somewhere in the middle. We shall press on.