My site, Kismuth, has been quiet for a long time. I decided to refresh it and change the focus for it for the next few months. Writing books is great and I love writing them, but it’s not enough to simply post them and wonder if anyone cares. So, I want to get back to conversation spacemaking, and do it in a new way. More like a miniature, recurring conversation salon, or workshops for writers and artists. After all, I met quite a few people who were creating these kinds of spaces formally (AIR Frosterus in Finland was one that I personally participated in, giving me a sense of how it could be). My version is a little different, though. It’s not tied to an institute, or a museum, or a grant, or a university, or anything except… itself. We make because we want to. Those who join are the ones who decide what it is and how it goes; I merely guide that process. That’s why it works so well, when I shape these kinds of spaces. I love them.
I’m happy when things are relaxed, informal, comfortable, safe, and it’s even better when some friends join who also enjoy these very things. A few is enough. Maybe four at a time is the max cap for me, nowadays. Honestly, Atelier S P A C E (2017-2022) had aimed to co-create with some people to make zines, but it ultimately turned out that of maybe 500 people I met, only 5 were a good fit. The rest of the time, I was the one to make them, singlehandedly, not because I don’t like working with people but because… of other things. The upshot was, I prefer things to be… simple.
Designing Kismuth Books
Self-publishing in 2012 was really different, than what I imagine it must be like today. The world has changed. There’s so much glut. And you don’t know what is of quality. You just see the things you see and then you forget them, the very next second. It’s marketing that’s ‘push’ and it’s not that interesting to me. I don’t want to do it. So that’s why, for meaningfully relating, for me, the ‘parasocial relationship’ just can’t work. I prefer authentic connexion.
Even 10 years later, Kismuth still cares about that. Plus, quietness. Quietness and connexion. Some other things are different, though. Naturally: we’re all changing and growing, all the time.
Here’s the new logo in context, at the website for Kismuth.
