Two years ago, we moved from our Portland community to the Swarthmore/Philadelphia area. For those who have made these big, cross-country (or shorter) moves, you know the poignancy of leaving one set of loved ones behind and the joyful anxiety of meeting new ones and building new relationships, new communities. I left my writers’ group physically, but we are still connected digitally. I have joined a new spiritual community here and have also started volunteering at an organization very close to my heart – the local animal shelter. I attended for the first time ever a Jane Austen birthday party in downtown Philadelphia hosted by the Jane Austen Society of North America, Eastern PA Region. These are my heart communities, the ones to whom I am devoted and gladly give extra time and resources.
Another such community is the Literary Community – capitol L and C. This is not just a community of fellow writers and artists, but a professional community as well. Today, I am exploring what this community means to me and how I – and perhaps you? – can set new goals for engaging with and supporting this important heart community.
First, let’s talk Literary Citizenship.
The word “citizen” comes from the Middle English word “citeseyn” or “citezein,” meaning one who dwells in a city. As the word evolved, it came to take on a more thematic meaning: one who dwells in a city or town with legally-recognized rights or duties.
In my exploration of literary citizenship, it is the “duties” side of things I wish to consider, and in particular, I’m considering what my literary citizenship has looked like in the past, and how – as we approach the new year and begin considering/clamoring for resolutions – I can amplify it in the upcoming one.
It would be, in Jane Austen’s term, “artful” to attempt to dissemble here, to claim that the recent publication of my own novel hasn’t brought this question to the fore. Certainly, in my efforts of marketing and promotion and watching the sales numbers tick upward, I have wondered who are those people supporting this particular Literary Citizen. And for the most part, responses to Facebook have told me who these supporters are. Hooray! Thank you! But what I have also wondered is (in gratitude for the support I am receiving) what I can do to be a better citizen of my literary community.
In terms of our local communities, we often consider good citizenship to be things like voting in elections, being a mindful and careful driver, not parking in handicapped spaces unless permitted to do so, and so on. Some of us may take this further: picking up the random bits of litter we see along the sidewalk. Holding the door at the bank or grocery store or wherever. Volunteering for yard clean-ups of our public spaces. That sort of thing.
In the arts world, particularly the literary world, good literary citizenship is all about how we can support the work of fellow writers. During my MFA, I bought all the books of faculty members available at the little bookstore during our residency weeks. I was fortunate then (no kids, few bills) to have the resources for that, and I certainly used all my book budget and filled my reading year with those purchases.
As I moved away from the MFA community, I entered the larger writing world, but I still consider good literary citizenship to be one of supporting writers with the purchase of their books. Book purchases are tracked by various sites which then hold onto and distribute that data to publishers. These numbers might be used by a future publisher or agent to determine whether a writer’s submission shows a strong track record of sales in the past. So when you buy a book from an emerging voice, you are also placing a tick in their column which just may help that writer achieve a better contract for future works.
Another way of supporting writers is to read and review their books, whether from a purchased or library copy. Reviews, particularly on Amazon and GoodReads, are critical for helping readers find these books.
Still another way to support writers is to attend their readings, share posts about their writing events and publications, and generally promote what you can to support their efforts in promoting themselves. I’ve even read of some writers putting together book tours from visiting friends and family across the country, holding readings in their homes and generating sales and interest. What a cool idea!
So all this leads to me considering how I want to be a better literary citizen in the upcoming year. Since moving in 2022, I have been reading almost exclusively from the library, largely because the very act of moving revealed just how much of a shipping container I could fill with my personal library, but also because the move in general required certain budgetary cuts. With a library literally down the street and a well-stocked e-book app available from anywhere, I have shifted to a library readership.
However, heading into 2024, I want to reinvest in the writing community around me, so I will be purchasing books, hopefully from Bookshop.org as we don’t have a bookshop in our borough, and I will be focusing those purchases on the recent publications of my MFA comrades, as well as those of other local, small-press, and independent writers I know. Not only will I be buying these books, but it is also my goal to read and review them over the upcoming year. My hope is to read and review 2-3 books/month.
I encourage all of us to consider what we can do in whatever community/ies where we are citizens. How can we support those people, organizations, or places we hold dear and find value in? For instance, as mentioned before, while I don’t have a lot of extra resources right now, I do have extra time. So I started volunteering at the Providence Animal Center. I value my spiritual community, so I look for opportunities to give a little extra time or effort to supporting that community, like writing Christmas cards to persons spending the holiday in prison or sending get-well cards to fellow parishioners. These are just a few examples. I hope you’ll consider the causes close to your heart and look for ways to amplify your citizenship. Money can help, time can help. There are always things we can do, and the more good we put into the world, the more that good will grow.
I hope you’ll share in the comments what good literary citizenship means to you, or how you might take on a new citizenship duty with your heart communities in the upcoming year. Onward!
Amy Foster Myer 