As a class I think most literary people are reasonably nice; but combine the lack of personal contact of the web with the hit-submit-before-you-think options of a blog, and I think a lot of otherwise-nice folks end up saying things that they might not say if a) they were in personal touch with their audience or b) they had time to mull it over.

Writing for publication is, we are always told, a long and arduous process, with both a need and an opportunity for rethinking and revision. Perhaps stomping on the gas pedal and zooming around that process isn’t such a fine idea.

I’ve recently read Bob Dylan’s “Chronicles” and watched the Scorsese documentary, and one thing I noted was Dylan’s reluctance to make public statements or answer questions or offer his opinions. It seems odd at first–that someone so stridently verbal in his songs would be so reticent to shoot his mouth off. But now that I think about it, I’ve come to believe his attitude had a great deal to be said for it.

So I’ll shut up now.

David Isaak