Zach Barocas, Diasporist Diarist
Anthony McGill solo clarinet: “
ISO Isolation: illustrations by Felicia Chiao
The idea that art-making is a luxury seems to me beside the point of being an artist. An artist doesn’t dabble or have their practice as a hobby. The artist makes art because it is what they do, whether anyone is looking or listening or not, and whether it comes at a great cost or not. It is not a matter of temperament but rather a matter of nature. Good artists might be made good through study or rehearsal but artists without qualification, good or bad, are born that way.
“I could prove to you that Napoleon never existed – but only because [both] of us learned that he did. That is what ensures that dialogue can continue. It is this intercourse that allows for dialogue, creativity, and freedom.
[T]he Internet gives us everything and forces us to filter it not by the workings of culture, but with our own brains. This risks creating six billion separate encyclopedias, which would prevent any common understanding whatsoever.”
Where one finds poetry depends on where one leaves poetry.