Looks like somebody sat Sheila Kohler down after her rude dismissal of the blogosphere and suggested that alienating readers probably isn’t the best strategy for audience-building. The explodedlibrary.info blog recently quoted an apology from Kohler where she explains: “My words were unfortunate, I now see, but my intentions were only to celebrate books in the most useful and constructive way.” It still sounds like she’s celebrating book reviews as opposed to books, though:
“I wanted to honour all of those who make literature their livelihood and who spend long hours reading and studying books, putting them in context with those great writers who have come before us and those who will carry the torch. I was trying to help those who were losing their important jobs, those pages which keep our books alive.”
We’ve received another version of Kohler’s apology, though, which clarifies things further, as she revises her take on blogs more generously: “Anyone reading and writing seriously about books is rendering an important service to all writers. There are many excellent literary bloggers including my former student from City College, Maud Newton. I am very grateful to anyone who has taken the trouble to review my work. My intention was simply to help the print reviewers whose pages are being cut from the newspapers and who are, sometimes, losing their livelihoods.”