The Long Schoolroom is a creative community for writers, artists, and makers committed to personal & professional growth.
The Long Schoolroom s01e04
The Long Schoolroom, Public BetaAbout a year ago, I had an idea to build an online "third place," a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to describe places neither home nor work (the first and second places) that cultivate community and foster a sense of belonging. I wanted this for myself. A learning community for writers and creatives, yes, but also a place one would find kindred spirits, inspiring conversations, and be supported to grow as artists and human beings. Things we cannot do alone. (Check out this Vox article on the necessity of these places, both in the virtual and the real world.) A crucial part of getting to this point, as with any enterprise, is the conviction that what you are doing is so vital you are willing to change your life and sacrifice to see it through. In that year, I've had enough proof-of-concept experiences to convince me about the necessity and viability of such a place. Well, I am ready to give this thing a proper go, and so beginning to invite people into The Commons, a free area which will feature regular events, resources, conversations, and use of all the communication tools on the Circle platform. The Fellowship, a paid upgrade, will feature more engagement, more regular events and gatherings, and more access to learning, personal, and professional growth opportunities. As Rick Rubin puts it The Creative Act: It doesn't matter if their art form is the same as or different from yours. It's nourishing to be in a community of people who are enthusiastic about art, who you can have long discussions with, and with whom you can trade feedback on the work. Being part of an artistic community can be one of the great joys of life. Things will grow and evolve, and plenty remains to be done, but one can only build a place for so long imagining what people will do with it, so welcome to the people. Register here, and let's see what happens. Introducing The Long Schoolroom-GPTHere is a GPT you can use that specifically "Draws inspiration from renowned poets and writers." As it describes itself, "If you're looking to explore topics through a literary lens or want responses that reflect a certain poetic or philosophical flair, this GPT is specifically configured to meet those needs." The Long Schoolroom stands out as a digital 'third place' where writers and artists gather to share and inspire beyond the confines of their immediate environments. This online platform offers a space akin to the communal hubs of old, where spirited discussions and creative exchanges flourish. In this community, every contribution—whether a line of poetry or a digital painting—sparks dialogue and connection. Drawing from Catullus's vivid expression, "I hate and I love. Why I do so, perhaps you ask. I do not know, but I feel it happen and I am tormented," members explore the depth of their emotions and experiences through their art, fostering personal growth and understanding. The Long Schoolroom is more than just a place for artistic exchange; it's a nurturing ground for friendships and a laboratory for personal development. Here, artists and writers not only refine their crafts but also discover new perspectives and build lasting connections. This vibrant community embodies the true spirit of creativity, proving that even in a digital space, the human need for connection and collective creativity remains strong. Other cringey titles it made along the way of revision: A Gathering Place for Minds and Souls, A Digital Hub for Creativity, A Confluence of Creative Spirits, A Nexus of Minds in the Digital Realm, A Digital Haven for Creativity, A Modern Agora in the Digital Age. If you aren't yet following my project on Substack, you can check it out at hereticalwisdom.com (while a paid subscription buys you the ability to comment and chat and the warm feeling of patronage, I've yet to paywall any posts). This week: It’s easy enough to start a thing. Given over to the pleasure of a dream, a desire, a lust, anticipation alone seems to build a supply line stocked with extant and ready materials, and what comes is carried forward on a momentum that, like a promise, full of hopeful conviction, tricks us into believing that God is on our side. But vision is only visionary in its practice, and the secret to magical thinking is in constructing, or discovering (uncovering?) a flywheel for the image that taps an endlessly regenerative source of [whatever it takes] that, to use Hegel’s phrase, delivers “the manifestation of truth in sensuous form,” where truth is but a metonymy for [whatever works]. Live Events This WeekCreative RecoveryWednesday, May 15, 3:30 p.m. Central, USA Doing your best work is not just about the work. It happens in the midst of creating a higher version of yourself while living life, the best we can, every day. This meeting will support the ongoing mental and emotional recovery work necessary for reinventing ourselves, with the specific aim of helping and nurturing creative people. Play Your Way Back to Your Creative Fire with Ana-Maria Ignat-BergetFriday, May 17, 3:30 p.m. Central, USA In creative play, the dissonance to pleasure ratio is minimal, so why not have more of it, when it also makes you more productive, more interesting in conversation, and more fun to be around. Playdate anyone? You will need to come prepared: choose a quote, bring your favourite book, think of a destination you want to travel to If these sound of interest and you aren't yet part of the community, join here. In Case You Missed It1. By now it's old news but during Last week's Apple event introducing new iPads, an ad debuted attempting to demonstrate how the sum total of all human artistry had been neatly contained into this (now thinner!) slab of glass and metal. Taking a cue from a popular Tik Tok trend, a giant hydraulic press crushes a collection of analog instruments and art supplies. The backlash was swift and merciless. The apology almost immediate. Ironic comparisons were made to Apple's 1984 Superbowl ad that championed the uniquely human over the fetishized commodity. 2. Elle Griffin published a blistering report, much of the data and anecdata taken from transcripts of the DOJ's lawsuit preventing the merger between Penguin and Simon & Schuster, called, bluntly, "No One Buys Books." Money quote from one executive describing the state of book marketing, where the truth is no one knows how to reliably make a book sale: A lot of what we do is unknowable and based on inspiration and optimism. The situation as Griffin paints it is dire indeed for writers and publishers. However Lincoln Michel followed up with a viral rejoinder, "Yes, People Do Buy Books," providing additional context and fact along to reporting that Americans buy a billion books a year. He followed that up with "More Publishing Facts You May Not Know." Jane Friedman also dropped some corrective truth bombs, Kathleen Schmidt unrained on the parade, and Freddie DeBoer (while I idly mixed metaphors) widened the net: And if you write and struggle, I have great sympathy. The path of success is fickle and strewn with random chance. The cream doesn’t always rise. There is always a chance you’ve been denied success because of unfair bullshit. You do, however, have to consider the possibility that the problem is you. At The Long Schoolroom
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The Long Schoolroom is an experimental community of practice for writers and makers seeking creative growth in art, spirit, work, and the world. The Long Schoolroom Bookshop at bookshop.orgA curated shop of books for creative, curious, and fascinating people (small kickback if purchased through these links) at bookshop.org. See it here.  |
The Long Schoolroom
The Long Schoolroom is a creative community for writers, artists, and makers committed to personal & professional growth.
The Art of Reinvention While watching the new Morgan Neville documentary about Steve Martin ("Steve!," Apple+), I was reminded, and continuously moved by, the ominipresent nature of this person and persona—this face, this voice, this attitude—across 45 years of my life. When I was a kid, my sisters and I would listen to his albums, checked out from the Greenwood Public Library, and I would memorize and recite bits of his standup that still, if not verbatim in their sensibility, show up in my...
The Next Thing When asked why he made "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David answered this not-very-interesting question with what is a not-very-interesting but reasonable answer: We made this special, people seemed to like it, so why not? (Ted Danson, who became a regular on the show, famously did NOT think much of that special/pilot) That empty feeling one has after finishing a thing I once heard called (but cannot attribute) "the empty attic of achievement." Many artists never recover from...
On Getting Started One of my favorite lines I picked up from Henry David Thoreau, either from his journal or his letters. “The poet is one who, having nothing to do, finds something to do.” When we finally get around to a long overdue task, it is a fair question to ask, why now? The answer is, usually: this is the last (best) possible moment. Or maybe there are taxes to avoid. An acquaintance was asking about the difference between learning and researching, having an itch to do more of the...