Almond/Sarvas Smackdown

By now, you’ve probably seen writer Steve Almond’s takedown at Salon of fellow writer and blogger Mark Sarvas (of the Elegant Variation.) Regular readers of this blog know that Mark and I are good friends, and I won’t pretend that I will offer an unbiased opinion about this admittedly funny, if more than a little puerile, piece.

It’s clear to me, though, that anyone who’s spent any kind of time at TEV knows that it’s a good place for book lovers to read intelligent interviews, book reviews, commentary, and so on. Contrary to Almond’s allegations, very little space has ever been devoted to Sarvas’s opinions about his writing (to which, I might add, Sarvas is entitled).

In any case, I think it’s a losing game for writers to complain about what a particular blogger has to say about them. Bloggers offer opinions. If you don’t like those opinions, start a blog of your own and let others hear you.