What’s it all about?
What the hell do you think it’s all about? Something incredibly BIG and IMPORTANT!
Nothing less than preventing the end of civilization as we know it!
Maybe a little bit less important than that, but these days it seems like you have to play the “end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it” card just to get a date.
What’s it REALLY all about?
SPIN.
After 30+ years in communications & public relations it’s become quite clear how vulnerable our world is to the abuse of language and story, because our world is built on narratives: Heroic narratives and romantic ones. Historical narratives. Media narratives. Political narratives. Social narratives. Narratives we tell ourselves about ourselves, the world, and each other.
We take for granted many of the narratives that define our world and our place in it, because those stories are an integral part of our everyday lives.
But here’s the deeper and more important truth = We are our stories.
“Storytelling isn’t just how we construct our identities. Stories are our identities,” according to John Holmes, a psychology professor at Waterloo University. [emphasis original]
So, when people in power do violence to language (twisting words and using language to obfuscate, cover up, dilute, distract, etc.), that cannot help but do violence, not just to our stories, but also to ourselves, each other, and the real world that we create out of those stories.
HENCE OUR TAGLINE: Spin has consequences.
LiteralMayhem explores the world through story and how “spin” can be used to corrupt those stories. Our aim is cheerful, cynical anti-spin: Un-spinning the world one talking point at a time and then putting it back together, hopefully right side up.
Sound interesting?…. then go ahead and…
What we do…
We aim to publish once a week with timely commentary and analysis on a variety of news, current events, and other topics. (Sometimes brainy, sometimes louche, sometimes both.)
Once a month we make a B.S. of the Month Award to the most egregious and impressive bullshit talking points pulled from news reports and press releases. (for paid subscribers)
Whenever we get hit by lightning (hopefully once a month), we deliver a cynical and satirical installment in Press Releases from Hell, which are fake press releases so close to reality that the funny kinda hurts. (for paid subscribers)
Quarterly we aim to publish long-form, serious, journalistic pieces (6K to 8K words). These are in-depth narrative analyses of broad topics like the economy, the environment, social and political trends, and philosophical topics. “Think pieces” that make you say, “Hmmmm.” Or “WTF.” Take your pick; they’re meant to be provocative. (for paid subscribers)
We keep a running tally of the most amusing, appalling Rhetorical Dysfunctions we can imagine—communications styles that so defy common sense and reason that they can only be characterized as diseases. (free-for-all)
For your amusement, and ours, we also keep a running tally of cute, fun, kick-your-partner’s-ass-at-Scrabble kind of Favorite Words. We like the way they sound. How they feel in your mouth when you say them. And generally how uniquely useful they are. (free-for-all)
This is me.
Martin Luz is a full-time writer, ghostwriter, and communications executive with 30+ years of experience in the fields of public relations, communications, and marketing. Currently, his work focuses on thought leadership, brand identity, and corporate messaging. He has also been a guest lecturer in business writing at the USC Marshall School of Business. He has worked with, and for, some of the biggest names in institutional finance, as well as global management consultancies, and financial publications. Ghostwritten articles for clients have appeared in publications such as Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, CEO Magazine, and many others. He holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from The City College of NY and a B.A. in Philosophy from Boston University.
My old archive on Huffington Post here.
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