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| photo: Sunday Routine |
Whenever Choking Victim hits the algorithm in my Spotify feed, I immediately think of Tao Lin and the Alt-Lit underground. There are also three life lessons that come to mind with that cognitive association, too.
It’s a strange connection, I’m aware, but it dates back to my understanding of what it means to consider oneself an artist. So let me start from the beginning...
In 2008, Tao came to speak at my college around the time of his book releases for Eeeee Eee Eeee and Bed from Melville House. If my memory serves correctly, his press MuuMuu House was born around then, too.
He sat before my creative writing class at Rider University, talking about his writing process and his new books, where he gets his inspiration, and what he did for a living. Mickey Hess, my professor and creative mentor at the time, invited him to speak about the changing tides within the literary realm. Traditional literary fiction was evolving due the internet and genre fiction was (as usual) never discussed in academia. Blogging had only just begun to influence the sphere, though things like LiveJournal and Myspace were about 4-5 years into the peak of their lifespans.
I can vividly remember him sitting at the front of that room with the biggest smile on his face, tearing out pages from his books and giving them to the class. He wore a Choking Victim hoodie, which caught my eye, and I complimented him on it. We had a little dialogue about the differences between skapunk and punk and then my turn was over. “Here,” he handed me one of the pages, “free souvenirs.”
I’m not sure if he even remembers this simple interaction, but it meant so much to me and my budding aspirations to be a writer. I became a fan of Tao’s because of that guest lecture.
And yes, I still have that page (#131-132 of Eeeee). It’s stuffed between the pages of his 2006 poetry book You Are A Little Bit Happier Than I Am on my shelf. That sits right next to 2018 book Trip and his 2009 Shoplifting From American Apparel.
This was part of the Q & A segment, during which he was asked many questions about his edgy internet-marketing techniques for the time period. “I think of an idea and I just do it,” he responded to an inquiry about one of his eBay campaigns. So simple, yet so difficult.
Immediately following that class, I went back to my dorm to dig up and research the roots of this new-to-me Alt-Lit genre. I started following him on Blogger (back when that was a thing) along with several other authors to help launch the era; Sam Pink, Noah Cicero, Megan Boyle, to namedrop a few of my favorites.
In my mind, Tao grew to be the face of this literary scene. It stemmed from the blog-o-sphere (which I was already familiar with due to LiveJournal and Myspace). He found tremendous and fast forthcoming success with Shoplifting From American Apparel, Richard Yates, and Taipei over the following few years. Critics have dubbed this time period of shifting tides “New Sincerity” in attempts to describe its post-postmodernistic approach to art & literature; though, David Foster Wallace seems to be the one credited behind that wave pool.
“[Wallace] provides a singular example of how he endeavors to negotiate with the ever-present specter of irony and interrogate the efficacy and applicability of sincerity within the millennial zeitgeist. By requiring of his readers a vast investment of time and concentration, acknowledging and working through the specter of irony while proleptically anticipating theoretical rebuttals, and resisting both a retrograde appeal for “pre-ironic” sincerity and a reductive synthesis of irony and sincerity, Wallace achieves a “new” position of sincerity that is ostensibly unchallengeable.” - Iain Williams, University of Edinburgh.
And let’s not forget the legacy left by that mastermind:
Setting aside the big picture specifics, I’ve come to deeply admire Tao’s work with this lens. Art for the sake of art.
10 years later, he returned to release his book Trip, which is completely aside his former “normal” genre of fiction. It’s different… but it’s still Tao. And that hustle had me inspired enough to sit here and peck out this reflection. Tao has become a teacher.
I think there are some creative life lessons here worth exploring:
- Experiment and have fun doing so.
- Apply creativity across platforms.
- Take time off to study yourself.
Experimentation
Tao has this incredible ability to make himself vulnerable throughout his learning process. I’m not sure if others would classify his experimentation across the processes of writing and marketing as a “learning process.” But, as an educator, I have the impression that he’s learning by doing. Plus, it’s clear he’s enjoying that process overall. Yes, writing and selling books this day & age is a form of suffering in its own, but Tao does a great job in sharing his joy and pain through his art. I value that as a fellow creative.
Cross-platform Growth
Experience is growth and growth is experience. That process is a self-education worth exploring. Tao made much noise early on in his career for getting creative with his internet marketing schemes. eBay, Twitter, Wikipedia - all of them. The sheer image of him tearing pages out of books before my class back in 2008 is evidence of his genius within this lens. Thinking outside of the box is one of his super-powers. At the time, the lit scene needed someone like that to break down barriers. It needed someone in a Choking Victim hoodie to inspire a bunch of millenials to reach for the sky. Experience was his teacher and he taught me to see my own in the same light.
Spiritual Exploration
Tao is no stranger to the nature of consciousness. MDMAfilms and Trip are prime examples of this. Not to mention his podcast, his tweets, and his beautiful mandalas. We all evolve and grow as we get older. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes it’s not. It depends on our external influences. In Tao’s case, this included relocating, reconnecting with his parents, ingesting more herbal diets, and experimenting with drugs and consciousness. I love his Instagram page for this very reason. It helps me see the value of personal growth alongside modern authorial success. Plus, I discovered helpful organics like Lion’s Mane and Mullein.
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| photo: NY Times |
Overall, the big takeaway here is the value of creative application across one’s livelihood. As one builds one’s success, it’s important to remember that the journey - the experience - is just as important as the product. Thinking outside the box can help to establish the foundation, but it’s vital to apply those lessons and stay true to one’s sense of self in the process.
I admire Tao as an artist. And I know that means nothing coming from yet another fellow internet blogger, but I credit his vision and craft to my continued hustle. I know he’s vaguely aware of who I am, and I wish we had the chance to meet again and get to know each other better because of our subtle connections to things like Choking Victim and Leftover Crack. (If you’re reading this Tao, the invite to Stories By The Sea stands!) But that’s not really the purpose of this article.
See, I am inspired by his spiritual and creative journey. He’s been a great mentor for me in the writing game, even if he’s unaware of it. And that drive is what fuels others’ passion. Being inspired inspires others.
He’s got a big lesson here: explore, experiment, create. That’s what I took away from all this.
It's rare to find a successful artist with such raw passion for the craft of writing - of creating - alongside personal evolution. To release project after project of successful contribution with pure authenticity every single time is an act of excellence. And we can learn from that.
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