The sustained critical attention of Southern quarterlies frames the poetry and fiction published in the same pages. It informs, enlarges, and sustains an audience. Cursory newspaper coverage is no substitute for serious criticism, which provides not only a context for new work but also possible criteria to judge it. Inwardly, it lacks local pressure for artistic excellence and authenticity. Outwardly, it offers the broader world no clear articulation of local goals and values.
Cities create artistic excellence by setting up standards to recognize and acclaim it.
San Francisco once reveled in its own high standards. Those sentiments might still be expressed in New York or London, but they are inconceivable in California. Out here it isn't chic to take literature so seriously. Confidence is a necessary component of genius. Bierce believed that one person could make a difference to local culture.