The Used World: Some Letters and Statements

Twelve days after last November’s elections we mailed the following note to a number of scholars, poets, novelists, and educators:

In our spring issue, titled The Used World, we will be featuring essays, stories and poems on something loosely called the “American Experience” as viewed by visitors to this country, first generation immigrants, and writers from so-called “marginalized cultures.” We would like you to supplement this with a portfolio of brief responses to a number of related questions and hope that you might be interested in contributing.



What effect, if any, have the current administration, the political climate, and economic conditions had on writing in the United States? In the fiction and poetry you read and/or write, do you discern moods and attitudes which have not been described or noted by journalists? Do you believe the phrase “the New World” carries with it the same connotations it once had? Do you think our culture remains as open as it once was to immigrants? We would be interested in your brief response to any of these questions.



Sincerely,
Agni

Some of the replies we received before going to press appear below, without editorial comment.