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Date Posted: 09:33:48 09/05/04 Sun
Author: Levi
Author Host/IP: 172.134.215.246
Subject: LitKicks and where it's going

Hi everybody -- just thought I'd respond to some of the comments about LitKicks below.

First, I just want to be clear on one thing: LitKicks did not shut down! No way, not even close. LitKicks is extremely important to me (obviously) and I know I can speak for Caryn and Jamelah also when I say all three of us have a lot invested in it.

I liked what Cat wrote about how LK is different from, say, Arcanum Cafe, or any of several other community sites. In fact, the qualities that make us different are the qualities we want to emphasize in OCTOBER EARTH and other future activities. We want to continue to be intelligent, intimate, open-minded and artistic. I really think that, come October 1, many of you will agree that the site has gotten better, not worse.

I like taking risks, and I know it was a risk to shut down the existing structure in the hope that the next version will be better. I play a lot of poker, and I guess I could put our decision in poker terms by saying we decided to go "all in" on this one. If it turns out that the new structure is a dud, then I'll do the same thing I do when my full boat gets beaten by four twos -- get mad, wish I hadn't made the wrong call ... and then start over yet again with a new pile of chips.

Stepping away from the poker metaphor -- I also have a pretty extensive business background, and I know that good business management involves constant change and constant risk. The urge to stand still and simply enjoy what you've accomplished is an urge that a serious businessperson must resist. We could have let the LitKicks boards go on forever, but I wouldn't have gotten much personal satisfaction out of this.

The decision to completely transform the site was made in early July, as we were preparing for the 24 HOUR POETRY PARTY. When I suggested it to Caryn and Jamelah, I paid a lot of attention to their reactions, and I could have been easily swayed if either of them told me they thought it was a bad idea. Instead, they both seemed to be as eager as I was to "shake shit up". This is a site devoted to alternative literature, after all. If we lose our sense of adventure, anticipation and surprise, what do we have left?

To sum up, I'd like to ask everybody to give us the month of October before they decide what they think of the new LitKicks. Singlemalt wrote something nice to us (I think this was in a private email) when he said he thought we were really hitting our stride with the QUEST and the 24 HOUR POETRY PARTY. I totally agree. I got much, much more satisfaction out of those two events than I did from the regular boards. And I can't even begin to describe how happy I am with the "Action Poetry" book, of which one third came from the QUEST, one third from the 24 HOUR POETRY PARTY and one third from the regular boards. I hope when you all see this book, you'll agree. This is what we're here to do -- and by we I don't mean the LitKicks staff, but everybody who has been a part of the community. We hope to do new books, new live shows, new types of community. Yeah, I miss Mindless Chatter too, but five years from now, which would you rather have spent your writing time doing -- chatting on a bunch of boards or contributing to a series of excellent books?

-- Levi

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