To the editors:
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We can’t. There is an underlying theme to Merryweather’s bitter letter which does need to be responded to. “Isn’t it just a business?” asks Merryweather about Guild. “Why should ordinary people start giving them money [?]” And “If the Guild wouldn’t run after every new thing in town . . . and just settle down to running a venture like a bookstore, they might be more successful.”
What Merryweather hates about Guild is precisely what makes it special. Guild is partisan. It is directly involved in the fight around important issues like censorship and homelessness. It gives valuable display space to new, important, unknown authors (like Sandra Cisneros once was). Isn’t Guild just a business? No, it’s not. It’s a cultural institution bringing together authors and readers, activists and critics to exchange ideas–and then do something about them. That’s why it needs and deserves our help.
