tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16166950.post115935055744148845..comments2024-01-23T18:21:17.066+00:00Comments on Surroundings: New SincerityRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17046788730174617923noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16166950.post-1159572111162248832006-09-30T00:21:00.000+01:002006-09-30T00:21:00.000+01:00anonI honestly don't know much about McSweeneys. I...anon<BR/><BR/>I honestly don't know much about McSweeneys. I don't like Dave Eggers' books. But Daniel Nester, at the Sestina Page, has always been very polite and positive about my sestinas, even if he hasn't published any (I've submitted twice).<BR/><BR/>But I've never liked the idea of "cool", at least not the MTV-type variety - the veneer of cleverness with no substance to back it up.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17046788730174617923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16166950.post-1159435112341359582006-09-28T10:18:00.000+01:002006-09-28T10:18:00.000+01:00I've always hated McSweeney's. There's a deeply s...I've always hated McSweeney's. <BR/><BR/>There's a deeply self-satisfied smarminess that exudes from a number of its editors. This isn't to say that there aren't amusing bits here and there in the publication, but it's cumulatively tiresome, and it seldom lingers in the mind.<BR/><BR/>If I had to put my finger on it, it's along the same lines of this woman's critique: there are grown men at McSweeney's who seem to think it's cute, clever, and charming to remain in a kind of arrested boydom, and a fake one at that. Though I disagree that it's an Ivy League offshoot; it would shredded there for what it is, a grating set of affectations that doesn't fly in person (though it gets a little more mileage in print, where the schtick seems less schticky on pretty paper with precious fonts). It's a very, very tiny clique, and people are so starved for genuine humor and a sense of play that McSweeney's has been given far too much credit.<BR/><BR/>I've wrangled with McSweeney's editors before in other venues, and the snobbiness and self-importance comes out if you call their bluff on anything. It's amazing how fast the New Sincerity drops off if you don't agree that they're clever, funny, and cool. And wow, they really, really don't like it when anyone is funnier or makes better points.<BR/><BR/>Sorry to be so grouchy, but it's nice to see someone else mentioning the emperor has no clothes for a change.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com