Tao Lin is the 25-year-old 'granddaddy' of the 'internet lit scene'

{This post is about how I first got to know about Tao Lin, and also Brandon Scott Gorrell. Go to the comments for my list of 'future Tao Lin publicity campaigns'.}

-+-+-+-+-+-+-

[HOW I FIRST FOUND OUT ABOUT TAO LIN].
I really can't remember how I first found out about Tao Lin. I wish that I could remember. I think that what happened was that in May 2007 I was going through an extended Miranda July obsession, and in the process of searching 'Miranda July' on Google I found Miranda July's comment about Tao, the one that goes, "Tao Lin writes from moods that less radical writers would let pass—from laziness, from vacancy, from boredom. And it turns out that his report from these places is moving and necessary, not to mention frequently hilarious.” I bookmarked Tao's blog, and every Sunday morning I would sit in bed (hung-over) and make my way through all of Tao's shit-talking, his self-promotional stunts, his poems and short stories.

I printed out Tao's Bear Parade e-book, this emotion was a little e-book and used the stapled-together pages as a bookmark for my assigned university reading. During the more boring lectures I spent a lot of time 'staring at my bookmark'.

In June 2007 I found a YouTube video of Tao reading poetry at Galapagos. I watched the video four times. I was very impressed with Tao's delivery, with his wry monotone. I thought, "I have never seen a person read poetry like this before." I thought, "This person will develop a following."

[MY FIRST TAO LIN BOOK PURCHASE].
Around July 2007, I bought Bed (Tao's book of short stories) from Amazon.com. After reading Bed, I gave it to my ex-girlfriend. Giving Bed to my ex-girlfriend was a sort of post-break-up 'peace offering' (which worked, because we are still friends). My ex-girlfriend and I talked about Bed and I felt happy because she said that she liked it.

After reading Bed, I was very nervous about leaving a comment on Tao's blog. I did not leave a comment on Tao's blog for a long time, then one night I was drunk and I left a stupid comment saying "you are the voice of a generation" or something. The next morning I deleted the comment. I felt very retarded. (Aside: at this point I still didn't have a blog.)

[A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BRANDON SCOTT GORRELL].
For a while I thought that Tao was just 'doing his thing' completely alone. There didn't seem to be any sort of 'scene' forming. Then I found out about Brandon Scott Gorrell's blog from Tao's sidebar. I'm not sure when Tao added Brandon to his blogroll but it must have been sometime around July or later. When I found out about Brandon's blog, I was at first a little cynical. I thought that Brandon was perhaps just trying to 'ape' Tao's style in order to increase his readership, but I could tell after reading a few poems that Brandon was 'authentic'. Brandon really is very much a 'unique entity'. A little while after reading Brandon's blog, I started my own blog.

[WHY TAO LIN IS IMPORTANT].
Tao is an integral 'member' of the 'internet lit scene'. Because Tao has four books published and has had a piece in Vice magazine, he brings a legitimacy to the 'scene' that would otherwise be lacking. Tao has made it 'legitimate' to write neutrally about the seemingly boring and seemingly absurd. Tao has made it 'legitimate' to write about things honestly, simply, and without abstraction. Some shit-talkers reduce Tao to a person who writes 'like a ten-year-old' about hamsters and organic food. Those people are 'missing the point'. Tao's writing is the opposite of simple - it is extraordinarily complex, with nonsense layered on top of sarcasm layered on top of existentialist philosophy layered on top of world-weary cynicism layered on top of a strict utilitarianist worldview. Tao is shit-talked by those who can only see the nonsense and miss everything else. To those who 'get it', Tao truly is a trailblazer.

[THE 'LIT SCENE' TODAY].
Today, the internet lit scene is not so centered around Tao Lin. That is not to say that Tao is losing influence, but simply that others are gaining influence. Blake Butler, Ken Baumann, Shane Jones and Colin Bassett (among others) are getting published by prestigious print journals and publishing houses, and are starting their own journals. Big things are happening. But in my mind, we have Tao almost single-handedly to thank for 'starting the hamster wheel rolling'.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

This blog entry was written for 'Blog about Writers of Serious Literature Day'. A lot of people in the 'online lit scene' have written articles about one another. Here is THE LIST:

Tao Lin blogs about Gene Morgan
Noah Cicero blogs about Shane Jones
Gene Morgan blogs about Noah Cicero
Blake Butler blogs about Mike Bushnell
Jillian Clark blogs about Kathryn Regina
Zachary German blogs about Ryan Manning
Jereme Dean blogs about Blake Butler
Justin Rands blogs about Matthew Savoca
Kathryn Regina blogs about Ryan Manning
Ken Baumann blogs about Jereme Dean
Kendra Grant Malone blogs about Brandon Scott Gorrell
Matthew Savoca blogs about Gena Mohowish
Shane Jones blogs about Jillian Clark
Stephen Daniel Lewis blogs about TTB
Ryan Manning blogs about Tao Lin, Noah Cicero, and Brandon Scott Gorrell
Brandon Scott Gorrell blogs about Colin Bassett
Colin Bassett Blogs about Chris Killen, Zachary German, Connor O'Brien, The Mississippi Review, and has a contest running about the 'most powerful writers of serious literature'
Chris Killen blogs about Ken Baumann
Mike Bushnell blogs about Zachary German
Kathryn Regina blogs about Kendra Grant Malone
Sam Pink blogs about everyone