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David W. Berner's avatar

Always struggled with the "brand" thing. For me, a writer, it's about being present, but "present" is offering work, as you mention, you have to write. I use Substack and Medium to stay in the "eye" -- Substack for personal essays, Medium for craft pieces, since I am also a teacher and writing mentor. I get very tired of the "brand first" people. You see it in American politics now. Very little gets done, but, hey, I'm on Instagram! Still got to pass the bill, work for your constituents. And for the creatives...you still have to create.

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Jim Friedman's avatar

Ian, I've really enjoyed reading this reflective piece on how a poet and poetry gets communicated in a media dominated age. You write so clearly and thoughtfully about this, as you have done in other posts. Rather than 'brand' I prefer 'profile' which suggests a position taken to the reader, an angle which doesn't reveal all of you but which presents a calculated presence.

I hesitate to encourage you to write more pieces in case they distract from your primary writing task of being creative.

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