I’ve been on a George Saunders jag. I’ve now read almost everything he’s written, and will go on to read the things he’s read, too.

In his essay “Mr. Vonnegut in Sumatra,” he comes to a new definition of art after reading Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five:

“I’d understood the function of art to be primarily descriptive: a book was a kind of scale model of life, intended to make the reader feel and hear and taste and think just what the reader had. Now I begand to understand art as a kind of black box the reader enters. He enters in one state of mind and exits in another. The writer gets no points just because what’s inside the box bears some linear resemblance to ‘real life’ — he can put whatever he wants in there. What’s important is that something undeniable and nontrivial happens to the reader between entry and exit.”

The essay is in a collection called The Braindead Megaphone. If you’re interested in him, I would NOT start there. I’d start with In Persuasion Nation, but hell, this isn’t a book club.

Still, I recommend him, no matter what art you are pursuing.

George Saunders site: http://www.saunderssaunderssaunders.com/

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Errico/8888939428
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By Mike Errico

I add this here not out of interest in the question Vibe is asking, but in the abject racism that is filling the comments. The final four is a predictable cast: Biggie, Tupac, Jay-Z and Eminem. But check out the comments. Eminem defenders and haters square off, summon Elvis, insult moms and generally freak out.

Like most Web polls, this may well be “decided” by Vibe’s editors (I know, shocker), but as in most things Web, the comments are oftentimes a more enlightening read.

Site: http://www.vibe.com/bestrapperever

PRESS RELEASE

VIBE MAGAZINE’S 2009 BEST RAPPER EVER COMPETITION
ANNOUNCES RAPPERS ADVANCING TO FINAL FOUR IN BID FOR COVETED TITLE

June 23, 2009, New York City - Who will hold the illustrious title of being
The Best Rapper Ever? VIBE magazine and VIBE.com are one step closer to announcing the winner of their 2009 The Best Rapper Ever competition with the revelation of the Final Four. More than 730,000 votes have been cast, setting the record straight on old rivalries and creating new ones.

Three No. 1 seeds have advanced to the final four, including easy victories by Eminem and 2Pac. The Notorious B.I.G. narrowly escaped defeat by Nas with 53 percent of the vote. No. 2 seed Jay-Z took down No. 1 seed Rakim by 20 percent.

To vote on the current round of the competition, visit http://www.vibe.com/bestrapperever.

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Mike Errico official site: http://www.errico.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Errico/8888939428
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/Tallboy7Vids