Circulars: Mission Statement

[Below is the original set of principles I put together the insomniac night when this website took shape in my mind. I hope to revise it and include it in a sidebar to give the site some specific identity distinct from other art/politics website -- a sense that this site investigates a form as much as operates in the chain of activist sites -- but for now, I'll let it be provisional.]

CIRCULARS intends to focus some of the disparate energy by poets and literary critics to enunciate a response to U.S. foreign policy, most significantly the move to war with Iraq.

CIRCULARS intends to critique and/or augment some conventional modes of expressing political views that are either entirely analytical, ironic or humanistic. These are all valuable approaches, of course, and not unwelcome on CIRCULARS, but our hope is to create a dynamic, persuasive idiom that can work in a public sphere, mingling elements of rhetoric and stylistics associated with the aforementioned modes -- analytical, ironic or humanistic.

CIRCULARS is, in this sense, a workshop -- a place to explore strategies.

CIRCULARS was not created in the spirit of believing that all poets should be "political" or even "social" in nature. While such arguments are free to be made on the website, and poems related to the themes of the site are (selectively) welcome, the focus is on articulating statements that are unique to the poetry community while not speaking for "poetry."

CIRCULARS holds no party line, nor is it particularly adherent to notions of the "avant-garde." All perspectives are welcome provided they are articulated intelligently or (in some cases) amusingly, and that they do not articulate perspectives or advocate actions that are, in the editors' judgment, of an entirely unethical nature.

CIRCULARS understands that, in the world of the internet, the link can be as powerful as word of mouth, and is itself the prize of an effective rhetorical strategy. These are "circulars" because they are circulated.

What we want:

Original writing -- book reviews, manifestos, modest proposals, etc. -- is, of course, most welcome, but also writing from listservs that are otherwise not public, as well as statements originally appearing on other websites, blogs or in print. (The content of CIRCULARS can appear elsewhere, but if you do reproduce the text please include a link to the original page.)

Multimedia submissions are welcome. This would include pages that work within the design structure of CIRCULARS involving visual, sound, animated and interactive components. However, we don't plan on doing more than installing a piece that the contributor has already completed, since we don't anticipate having much time to collaborate on pieces.

Though the site's primary focus will be on opinion, announcements and reports about activities related to the themes of this site -- performances, readings, actions -- are welcome. Links to other sites, articles, scandals, and events are also encouraged. Some poetry will appear here, but at the discretion of the editors.

Structure:

Entries will be categorized and archives according to themes or, in some cases, according to author. This system, however imperfect, will allow visitors to the site to catch up on threads of dialogue with some ease. Entries will also be archived according to month, as is standard with weblogs.

There will be an unmoderated comments section, but the editors reserve the right to cancel entries that are deemed offensive. This would include personal attacks on individuals associated with the site, and comments of a racist, sexist or otherwise demeaning nature.

Contributors are invited to utilize this space for open forums, with the understanding that other material will intermingle with their own as it arrives, and that this material might contradict the main focus of such forums. In this case, a special archive category can be created linking entries related to the forum.

Note on design:

The present design is just one of the standard templates of movabletype.org -- we hope to make it a little more distinctive soon! Other elements, such as a blogroll, links, etc., will be added over time. Any feedback concerning the design of this site -- readability, functionality -- is welcome.

Posted by Brian Stefans at January 30, 2003 06:25 AM