Wilde on Writing

That subject line was only for the very pop culture-obsessed cum non-grammatical fanatical-types among us. I'm feeling extra sensitive about dotting my t's and crossing my i's because I'm preparing to give a three-hour workshop at the San Francisco Art Institute's upcoming Art Writing Conference. It should be a good means of snapping out of my post-Hawaiian summer haze and gearing-up to begin teaching, again, at Cal, in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I also noticed that the conference will be the backdrop for a presentation of the awesome Oscar Wilde play (yes there actually was a reason for the headline), "The Critic as Artist." Love Wilde, love the play, love it all... It reminds me that I recently went toe to toe with my friend Jonathan Keats (a very Wildean character!), over a few pints, about whether the critic's work is art. Jonathan and I both wear that dual artist/critic badge and we had surprisingly different takes on the role of our own criticism. I'll leave you to wonder who fell on which side of the fence. Interestingly, I do recently find myself invited to perform or exhibit in a number of "artist/curator" shows... Could this be a new genre? Should it be? No, seriously, I wonder...