Arts funding: How would you frame the debate?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

New York public radio host Brian Lehrer is in the midst of an experiment. He’s invited listeners to help shape his talk show on WNYC by posting to a public wiki for upcoming programs.

This Friday, the show will look at arts and culture funding in light of the coming presidential election. Listeners -- local and Internetty -- are invited to collaborate by suggesting guests, examining the positions of Obama and McCain, contributing ideas on how to frame the issue and even writing an introduction for Lehrer to read at the beginning of the show.

So far, there have been just a few contributions -- they focus on arts funding in New York and on arts education. Nobody, that I can see, has mentioned literature at all, although the National Endowment for the Arts includes a literature division that funds the Big Read, other literacy projects and even makes grants directly to authors. Maybe we should make sure books don’t get overlooked.

The National Book Critics Circle suggests posting your ideas quickly, as Friday’s coming up fast.

-- Carolyn Kellogg