In “Bookshops are not Churches. But…,” Damien G. Walter touches on a growing divergence between the arts—particularly books—and commercial bookstores. Definitely worth the read.
Walter’s comment on the role of the arts in modern spirituality (for lack of a better term) may answer a question raised at the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP) fall conference last weekend: “Why do the other arts draw public observers, but poets are largely content to read to other poets?”
Certainly poets could strive to better suit a general audience, but as the F in WFOP suggests, poets reading to other poets may just be a form of church.
Thanks to J. Robert King for passing Walter’s post my way.