What is Personal Canon Formation?
Personal Canon Formation (abstract noun): the process of discovering, interacting with, responding to, and assimilating into one’s consciousness works of art and other cultural artifacts of merit. The process is deliberate and thoughtful without being rigid or dogmatic; its results may be shared generously but not authoritatively. At its best it should cultivate honest, responsible criticism that does not shy away from passion even as it is meticulously analytical. It should promote stimulating conversation and debate without acrimony. It should broaden horizons and encourage empathy. It should enrich life without anxiety, without the dreaded FOMO. Finally, it should encourage actual freedom of thought and aesthetic experience rather than the apparent freedom of the endless “choice” that the algorithmic machine feeds us.
This definition led off the first-ever post here, and it is still a good summary of what goes on here. (You can read that first post here.) I post regularly about literature and music, as well as the other arts more occasionally. Regular features include the Classroom Journal, in which I write about the texts that I’m teaching in a given week (I’ve been an English professor for about two decades) and free-standing essays about artistic and cultural phenomena as wide-ranging as David Bowie, Jane Austen, and J. R. R. Tolkien. I also feature art by my friend Pier Hardin.
Free subscribers receive two posts a week on these sorts of topics, and paid subscribers also receive my weekly “Bird-Bolts and Cannon-Bullets,” which is a round-up of reading, listening, and recommendations. So if you’re always looking for something new to read or to listen to, you have come to the right place.
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