BEAR IT
An Interview With Bear Parade Designer and Creator
By Kendrick Daye

 

 

Gene Morgan, editor and designer of Bear Parade, an online journal that has published work by Tao Lin, Ofelia Hunt, Noah Cicero and countless other quirky young writers, doesn’t think of his journal as a way to combat major publishing houses. In fact, he explains in an interview with Art Nouveau Magazine he says “People who like things from major publishing houses will not like the things on Bear Parade. We are an alternative, but not a replacement.” Morgan took time off from working on a new Zachary German book to tell us his opinions on the 2007-2008 writers strike, blogging, our celebrity infatuated culture and more.  

On our celebrity infatuated culture: 
“Real issues are scary, so people have found an escape in the lives of others. It's nothing new. People have had an infatuation with royalty for a long time. I think it's stupid, but I am not in a place to judge other people. I vote and read the news [and] I play a lot of Playstation and like porno.” 

On blogging: 
“It is not the same kind of literature that we are used to, but yes, it is literature. I have read a lot of blogs that are as relevant (to me) as anything I have read in print. ” 

On the 2007-2008 writers’ strike: 
“It sucks. Hollywood shits on its writers, and I get my television programming shit on. I didn't buy a Tivo for American Gladiators.” 

On Some Writers Innate Fear of Technology:  
“Old writers and writers with an established reputation are afraid of having real blogs and MySpace profiles and things. Most of them are afraid of the internet, partially because the people on the internet have the ability to destroy their "elevated" perspective by responding to their work quickly and aggressively (and at times, stupidly).  I have been attacked a few times online, but that is how I "came-up," learning how to deal with assholes and semi-anonymous opinions that are hard for me to stomach, but equally as valid as my own. Through that, I was able to not be an asshole myself, and it changed how I handled my relationships with other writers and people. The internet has changed writers and writing in a way that puts more focus on what individuals (and not corporations) allow themselves to say, and old writers (along with established younger writers) fear self-publishing and the scrutiny that comes with not having some other "smart" person with the ability to write one-hundred-thousand-dollar checks approve of their work before it is sent to the public.” 

On Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama:
"[I pick] Obama. I'm tired of [the] Clintons and Bushes, there are plenty of other families that are capable of producing presidents." 

To read some selections and find out more about Bear Parade and Gene Morgan visit www.bearparade.com