And now it’s December. What does December bring, in literary terms? An interesting array of books, representing a disparate array of styles and approaches to the craft of writing. Do you like short stories? We’ve got you covered. Do you enjoy poetry? There’s some poetry here, too. Throw some literary translations into the mix and you have a solid month for reading — with what might be your next favorite book as this year draws to a close.
When I first heard about the AI program, ChatGPT, I didn’t think too much of it. You type in a question, and it gives you an answer. You give it commands and it responds in kind. I assumed it would be a hyped-up program that would be trendy for a bit then fizzle out, like the AI profile pics I had been seeing. I was wrong, as I often have been about these kind of things (I didn’t think Facebook or Netflix would last very long). Then I saw people posting whole essays written by the program. During a conversation with my brother-in-law, I suddenly saw the potential for writers to use this as a creative new tool. I could write a book much faster. I put that thought on the backburner. Maybe it would be a project for a rainy day. But I knew that this program wasn’t going to fizzle out. Then shortly before the start of the new year, Mallory Smart tweeted that she would be releasing a human/AI collaboration book on New Year’s Eve. My first thought was that the literary world is about to change. My second thought was, I need to talk to Mallory about this.
In our morning reading: exploring the new Titus Andronicus album, an interview with Saeed Jones, and more.
In our morning reading: nonfiction by David James Keaton, an interview with Matthew Specktor, and more.
Mallory Smart is a Chicago-based writer who works as Editor-in-Chief for Maudlin House. She also talks about music and literature on the Textual Healing podcast, and drinks a lot of coffee.