With the liberal politicization of institutions of higher learning, and the steadily declining standards of popular culture, the rich context of Western Culture, from which Great Literature in the past has sprung, is in a state of decay. We believe that a New Literature, written by independent thinkers, committed to artistically expressing contemporary truths felt deep in their souls, will provide an intellectual and spiritual beacon. Guided by this beacon, we can unite and build a fleet of frigates that are committed to returning poetry to the people. A lot of liberals might get jealous and things, when they realize that we're doing the job that they profess to do, but are not doing. But they're too busy filling out grant applications, and organizing ad campaigns for Douglas Coupland on MTV. But really, they shouldn't fret. For these new works shall provide them with literature that is well worth their time deconstructing.
The Jolly Roger is captained by the spirit of democracy, and its crew believes that the only way that the institutions of higher education and culture can be reformed is if the people at the grass-roots level will it. And it is clear to us that they do.
We do not share the pessimism found in the corporate conglomerate publishing houses that the common citizen is not capable of quality literature, but rather we feel that those in the elite editorial circles have lost touch with the deeper needs of present-day culture. Their politicized, watered-down literature does little to fill the contemporary spiritual void. They are incapable of providing the common man with a literature that means something to him, which is why they write for themselves.
Unlike many esteemed postmodern academics, we respect the endeavors of the scientific community, and applaud the many contributions that science and technology have made to culture. The twentieth century has witnessed a vast change in the mediums in which man's soul can be expressed, and while science and technology are responsible for these machines and mechanisms of communication, it is literature's responsibility to provide the ghost within them. We're here to give the information highway something to say.
The Universities abandoned the teaching of great literature for the study of criticism about literary criticism, and now that they have deconstructed the great works, the only thing left for the students to know are the names of the professors forming the hierarchy of nihilists. Creative writing workshops have sprung up on all major campuses, and now form highly efficient bureaucracies that train students in the art of obtaining taxpayer's money to fund the creation of poetry that nobody wants to read. We're going to have fun on our new ship. While aboard the vessels of postmodern liberalism, which currently patrol the institutions of higher education, it was easy to fear for one's academic life. Over the past thirty years, the Universities, the press, and the major media establishments, which up until recently have had a monopoly on the culture at large, had instilled in all the fear of the plank.
But no longer does the prospect of walking the plank carry with it such a portentous threat. For the whispering wind states that the elites' hulls are filled with holes, and their ships are taking on water. They have their tenure, they have their esoteric languages to adorn their nihilism with, and they have the money of a generation that traded their college loans for a politicized, gutted education. But it won't buy them the Truth. For as Drake Raft once said, "When one puts a price on education, one devalues it." Their vessels are sinking, and the holes in their hull are too great to be filled by the postmodern soul. As professors, they assumed the responsibility that only those who believe in the existence of Truth should ever assume. Immune to the beauty in the Great Books, they asserted that everything was but political, and then they made it that way. And now, in the name of diversity, you had better think as they do. They revel in an abstract void where what is most important is one's gender, skin color, and political beliefs. We aboard The Jolly Roger seek not to divide the people by promoting a politicized literature rooted in ethnicity and gender, but we seek to unite the people, with a literature of the Truth.
We believe in the people, the scholars, and the future of the intellectual institutions that unite them in a search for the truth. So walk the plank! We built The Jolly Roger to save our souls, and respond to others' SOS distress signals. She is made from, "Oak planks of reason, riveted with rhyme, designed to voyage across all of time." Each month we will launch an electronic magazine with stories, articles and poetry submitted by all of you, scattered across the fruited plain. To sign aboard, send the message, "subscribe drakeraft your name," to listserv@unc.edu. You will receive instructions on how to subscribe and submit your poems, stories, and thoughts to The Jolly Roger. This electronic frigate seeks to sail the seven cyber-seas, and sign aboard cultural mutineers from all parts of the world. Your help in steering her to where she is needed will be greatly appreciated, so please forward this message to your colleagues, your stud ents, and your friends. All are welcome aboard. All that will be asked of you is that you keep up the good cheer, and be entertained, as we set out in our quest for what Melville deemed, "the ungraspable phantom of life." Sign aboard!
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