What Is Reality To Americans Today?
What is reality to Americans today? And did we ever have a grasp of it?
That’s the title of Vanity Fair’s essay contest. What a great pair of questions for an essay contest. There was a time when I thought “reality” was a solid, identifiable thing. Now I know it’s more like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.
And how would you like to judge an essay contact with a title like that? I mean, after you’d thrown out all the dreck… and there will be dreck, then what? How would you get your own view out of the way? I know I’d have trouble not coloring my opinion with, well, my opinion.
Of course First Prize is pretty nifty too - $15,000 plus “a trip to Donnini, Italy, including economy-class airfare and six nights of accommodation at the Santa Maddalena writers’ colony, and a Montblanc Meisterstück 149 fountain pen.” A reality changing experience for sure.
Write well and often, and if you win this one, please let me know!
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4 opinions for What Is Reality To Americans Today?
Kristen King
Aug 26, 2006 at 2:17 pm
First prize is nice, but they take all rights to the winning work in perpetuity, which makes me very, very uncomfortable. :/
Kristen
Anne Wayman
Aug 27, 2006 at 10:26 am
Here’s why I’d be comfortable with granting them all rights forever:
- the topic is peculiar
- the topic is time sensitive… at least I hope things change rapidly
- ideas are not copyrightable – any idea I created as a result of writing for the contest could be used in other places by me
But your point is taken and everyone needs to make this sort of decision for themselves.
John Clausen
Mar 13, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I have to agree with Anne. The prize is tasty enough to hand over all rights to an essay. I’ve sold a lot more than that…for a lot less.
As a general rule, though, I have to also say that Ms. King has a good point. For all rights in perpetuity, it better be a very attractive prize.
Anne Wayman
Mar 13, 2008 at 3:30 pm
;)
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