Ars Notoria means the art of the noteworthy. What events, people and historical moments are worth writing about, worth depicting? History is usually written by the victors – the oppressors – and one of their highest priority tasks is to erase memories of resistance to oppression. The question of historical memory is an important one for those of us who want change, who want social justice; who want a humane, democratic, egalitarian society.
Editors, writers, poets, and artists united in the sodality of Ars Notoria were disheartened when looking out over the media landscape. It seems desolate. We used to rely on mainstream outlets for a semblance of balance. Most of us believed for a long time that the mainstream media would hold to professional standards when it came to reporting on the wonderful new opportunity for radical change that Jeremy Corbyn represented. We were proved wrong. We were not proved wrong because we were naïve, but because we had hope for a more egalitarian future. That hope was sabotaged. Still, we continue to hope = and act.
We were proved wrong not because we were naïve, but because we had hope for a more egalitarian future and that hope was sabotaged.
In response to the view held by most people on the left that there is now a fierce neoliberal bias, even in the coverage of organisations like the Guardian and the BBC, a hodgepodge of amateur, web-based, alternative Left Wing media outlets, have arisen.
Something is still missing, however. It seemed to us that instead of criticising other people’s attempts at constructive engagement, it was up to us to step up to the crease and to create our own website; a site that is broadly left and inclusive; for example, a site that can include both sides of the Brexit argument, that can include idealists of all kinds: mystics, romantics, ecologists, poets, committed social democrats, liberals concerned with social responsibility, and humane socialists and communists. We want to provide a creative outlet and a voice for many more people across the broad left spectrum.
… it was up to us to step up to the crease and to create our own site; a site that was broadly left and inclusive.
We want to write and read articles with more depth and analysis. We want to include other cultural modes of expression like poetry, literature, comics, photography, music and art.
In short, we want to create a quality left-wing magazine that entertains and edifies. The site that you see before you is that idea in embryo. We hope to develop it into something worthwhile and then decide together on its final shape and prepare to make our own solid contribution to achieving a progressive change in our country’s fortunes in 2024.
If you feel you are in sympathy with us; if you like what we have done so far; if you feel you could contribute to our experiment, then please contact us at:
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