"Literary Renaissance" or Corporate Miserabilism? You Decide!
This listing has disappeared from Grub Street's job opportunities page, so either they've come to their senses or the position has been filled. As a gift to posterity, however, I'm posting it here. With its exquisite synthesis of journalese, ad-man lingo, and management-speak, it's a sterling example of the exciting "literary renaissance" that Boston is currently "undergoing." Note how "writers" is comfortably nestled between "philanthropic funding" and "publishing entrepreneurs." And I can never get enough of "liaising" as a verb! Not to mention the with-it swagger of "growing" as a transitive verb -- "growing the list"! And how about the coy afterthought of "a demonstrated love and passion for the literary arts" as a "plus" for any candidate (after "political and fundraising experience" and all the other qualifications, of course).* I'll have more to say in future posts about Boston's "Literary Cultural District" initiative, but in the meantime: Long may the immortal spirit of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow liaise with the "branding process" and grow the "improved signage"!
Literary Cultural District Coordinator (part-time)
September 12th, 2013
By the mid-nineteenth century, Boston was called “The Athens of America” because it was home to publishing powerhouses like Ticknor and Fields and Little Brown, as well as some of the most enduring writers in our history, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Washington Street was a mecca of magazine and journal publishing. Writing published in Boston contributed both to the development of literature and social justice in the United States.
Today, our city is undergoing a literary renaissance. We are blessed with the Boston Public Library, the important archives at the Boston Athenaeum, and the work of publishers like Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Beacon Press. Grub Street has become the leading literary center in the country, welcoming over 2,500 writing students a year and hosting a premier writers' conference each May at the Park Plaza Hotel; the Boston Book Festival draws 30,000 people to Copley every October; 826 Boston inspires children to write and publish. Literary stars like James Carroll, Steven Pinker, Tom Perrotta, and Anita Shreve work here, and new presses like Plympton and SixOneSeven are planting seeds.
We have a unique opportunity to harness the work of these organizations, clustered together downtown, to create the nation’s first Literary Cultural District. With an intentional, coherent approach to our collective work, improved signage, partnerships with hotels and restaurants, and marketing, we will make our neighborhood more vibrant by increasing cultural tourism and participation in literary arts and by attracting more philanthropic funding, writers, and publishing entrepreneurs. Current Partners include the Boston Public Library, the Boston Athenaeum, the Boston Book Festival,The Drum,and the City of Boston, but we will be growing the list significantly now that we have funding to make the project happen. Interest is very high.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES The LCD Coordinator will be overseen by Grub Street management, and will work 18 hours/week on the project at Grub Street’s offices.
The overall role of the LCD Coordinator is to give the project momentum, to keep all partner and collaborating organizations on track and to facilitate partners' work for district by handling all administrative tasks. Specific responsibilities include:
Applying to MCC for cultural district status
Managing the branding process with outside design firm
Coordinating all project meetings and moving the project forward by creating a timeline and benchmarks
Facilitating the Literary Data Tool project
Managing marketing efforts for the calendar and website
Generating content for the newsletter
Liaising with hotels and restaurants
Actively researching funding options
Helping to write the district-wide marketing strategy
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE The idea candidate is a dynamic, self-starter, with excellent and proven project management and organizational skills, experience planning and facilitating meetings, excellent communications skills, and an ability to work well with a wide variety of people. Political and fundraising experience is a plus as is a demonstrated love and passion for the literary arts.
COMPENSATION AND LOGISTICS $18,000 yearly stipend.
To apply, please submit a resume and brief cover letter todrew@grubstreet.org.No calls, please.
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* With extra credit bonus points awarded for the romance-novel overkill of "love AND passion"!
my grandmother was involved in the publishing scene in boston during the first decade of the twentieth century - in a clerical capacity - i have a few houghton mifflin books from that era, passed on to me by my late father, who would have been one hundred years old this year
the nitty gritty is part of taking care of business - as for the corporate jargon in the job announcement, this is how people communicate these days
my eyebrows do go up at the size of the salary compared to the cost of living of the urban area, however
I'd like to nominate Alice Munro for the slot. My only hesitation is given this Q&A, http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1973 which was offered up instead of a proper Nobel Lecture, I'm not entirely sure about the excellence of her communication skills. But I think her ability to liaise with restaurants and hotels could more than compensate for her communicative deficiencies!
Writer, literary squatter, saboteur. His novel, HUMAN WISHES / ENEMY COMBATANT, was published in January 2012 by Say It With Stones, an imprint of Interbirth Books. He was last seen in Boston.
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my grandmother was involved in the publishing scene in boston during the first decade of the twentieth century - in a clerical capacity - i have a few houghton mifflin books from that era, passed on to me by my late father, who would have been one hundred years old this year
the nitty gritty is part of taking care of business - as for the corporate jargon in the job announcement, this is how people communicate these days
my eyebrows do go up at the size of the salary compared to the cost of living of the urban area, however
so, as to A vs B - you decide - i say - both
at least it's not an unpaid internship
a unique opportunity to harness!!!
what about leveraging the fuck out of the stakeholders ??
I'd like to nominate Alice Munro for the slot. My only hesitation is given this Q&A, http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1973 which was offered up instead of a proper Nobel Lecture, I'm not entirely sure about the excellence of her communication skills. But I think her ability to liaise with restaurants and hotels could more than compensate for her communicative deficiencies!
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