Chill out, dude.
I just picked up Adam Roberts' book, The History of Science Fiction (2006), and, reading the preface, came across this:
"And since we're on the subject of gratitude, let me record that I am not in the least grateful to the British Arts and Humanities Research Board, who, when I applied for research funding that would significantly have eased and facilitated the work on this project, turned me down for reasons which (in accordance with their own policy) they did not divulge. A plague on their house. That this book was ever completed owes nothing to them at all."
Um, petty a little? In addition to being fully insignificant to the topic of the book, such negative acknowledgments seems to me to be in both poor taste, and just strange and uncomfortable. What academic rigor and trust should we expect from a writer who holds such prejudices and biases in the first place, when we subsequently desire to learn about an incredibly broad spectrum of ideas from him? What the hell are the editors of the book thinking, leaving something like that in?
Grants are, pun not intended, not to be taken for granted. A grant board can reject an applicant for any reason, and does not require to state that reason--as the writer acknowledges! In the world of liberal arts grants especially, competition is high and there are many mouths to feed for little food floating around. Since the rejection itself comes with no especial disinterest in your topic, it is irrelevant to the outcome of your book. In fact--your book is finished and published now, something that should be marked by appreciation. Grow the fuck up.
However, I will take a risk and make this point a little more political, too. Currently I am vacationing in Glasgow, hanging out with my friend and participating in the Glasgow International Film and Music Festival, as well as meeting with people in the local liberal arts community. Anger is rampant against the UK funding cuts just as it is Stateside with some of my friends back home, which is understandable since funding for cultural production is quite often the hardest hit sector during times like these, whereas other sectors get questionable moral leeway (the argument is most typically exemplified by art versus military funding, being that art funding is a mere blip in comparison to military funding, but art funding gets the cuts when military funding doesn't). It would be better if more funding for art and scholarship were available indeed. However, even if that funding was more available, it does not guarantee any individual applicants grant or access to it, and thus, recessionary times or otherwise, artists and academics need to understand that they can never rely on or depend on outside sources of funding in any case, and should attempt to do as much as they can with what they can do for themselves. This may sound like I am speaking down but I'd rather prefer the message be more empowering. After all, lack of that grant for Roberts' own research and writing did not stop him from finishing it. As a filmmaker, whose costs for production well exceed the cost of writing a book, I do not live under the assumption that anybody owes me for the privilege of producing a movie. If funding falls through for a project, then the project itself must be restructured to operate under lower funds. Quit whining and find a solution (which the author must have done).
Or, to try to be empowering about it, just do it anyway. The significance is in the project itself, and its completion is the testament towards what you deserve, not people's initial investment in it.
I am sorry to extend the argument in the manner that I have chosen, it is just something that is on my mind a lot lately and I am getting bothered by it. People seem to be under the impression, forgive me, that the world owes them something. This is not always the case. I think much of the energy used complaining could be used more productively looking around for alternatives. However, after all, this is me expending energy complaining about complainers, so there ya go. I think I will stop there.
At any rate, I am not going to read Roberts' book, despite my interest in the topic. His grudges bode poorly for his critical perspective.
--PolarisDiB
"And since we're on the subject of gratitude, let me record that I am not in the least grateful to the British Arts and Humanities Research Board, who, when I applied for research funding that would significantly have eased and facilitated the work on this project, turned me down for reasons which (in accordance with their own policy) they did not divulge. A plague on their house. That this book was ever completed owes nothing to them at all."
Um, petty a little? In addition to being fully insignificant to the topic of the book, such negative acknowledgments seems to me to be in both poor taste, and just strange and uncomfortable. What academic rigor and trust should we expect from a writer who holds such prejudices and biases in the first place, when we subsequently desire to learn about an incredibly broad spectrum of ideas from him? What the hell are the editors of the book thinking, leaving something like that in?
Grants are, pun not intended, not to be taken for granted. A grant board can reject an applicant for any reason, and does not require to state that reason--as the writer acknowledges! In the world of liberal arts grants especially, competition is high and there are many mouths to feed for little food floating around. Since the rejection itself comes with no especial disinterest in your topic, it is irrelevant to the outcome of your book. In fact--your book is finished and published now, something that should be marked by appreciation. Grow the fuck up.
However, I will take a risk and make this point a little more political, too. Currently I am vacationing in Glasgow, hanging out with my friend and participating in the Glasgow International Film and Music Festival, as well as meeting with people in the local liberal arts community. Anger is rampant against the UK funding cuts just as it is Stateside with some of my friends back home, which is understandable since funding for cultural production is quite often the hardest hit sector during times like these, whereas other sectors get questionable moral leeway (the argument is most typically exemplified by art versus military funding, being that art funding is a mere blip in comparison to military funding, but art funding gets the cuts when military funding doesn't). It would be better if more funding for art and scholarship were available indeed. However, even if that funding was more available, it does not guarantee any individual applicants grant or access to it, and thus, recessionary times or otherwise, artists and academics need to understand that they can never rely on or depend on outside sources of funding in any case, and should attempt to do as much as they can with what they can do for themselves. This may sound like I am speaking down but I'd rather prefer the message be more empowering. After all, lack of that grant for Roberts' own research and writing did not stop him from finishing it. As a filmmaker, whose costs for production well exceed the cost of writing a book, I do not live under the assumption that anybody owes me for the privilege of producing a movie. If funding falls through for a project, then the project itself must be restructured to operate under lower funds. Quit whining and find a solution (which the author must have done).
Or, to try to be empowering about it, just do it anyway. The significance is in the project itself, and its completion is the testament towards what you deserve, not people's initial investment in it.
I am sorry to extend the argument in the manner that I have chosen, it is just something that is on my mind a lot lately and I am getting bothered by it. People seem to be under the impression, forgive me, that the world owes them something. This is not always the case. I think much of the energy used complaining could be used more productively looking around for alternatives. However, after all, this is me expending energy complaining about complainers, so there ya go. I think I will stop there.
At any rate, I am not going to read Roberts' book, despite my interest in the topic. His grudges bode poorly for his critical perspective.
--PolarisDiB