Today we’d like to introduce you to Liza Libes
Liza, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After making the fraught yet necessary decision to withdraw from academia after I discovered that an academic career might not be a great fit for me, I transitioned to the real world and found that few people read literature and far fewer people understood it. I began to feel a void in my heart that had previously been occupied by literary discussion and quickly realized that literary study did not have to be just confined to academia. I founded The Pens and Poison project to promote literary education and foster appreciation for the written word, as well as to bring back the idea of literature as a work of art rather than a political vehicle. All across American college campuses, English literature students are being taught that literary study must necessarily rest on the far-left ideologies of Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and others. As a result, literary fields such as publishing, academia, and journalism are increasingly becoming dominated by ideological extremists who are bringing the focus away from literary study and towards their own political agendas. I believe that literature should not be politicized, nor should it be understood under these arbitrary political lenses. As I grow the Pens and Poison project, I hope to spread literature to all and to bring back the focus of literary study to the importance of the humanistic tradition.
I set up social media channels to promote my mission. Since starting Pens and Poison about 6 months ago, I have amassed 22k followers on Instagram and 22k subscribers on YouTube. Many of my followers are in disbelief that I have only been around for several months, and others are shocked to hear that I grew my socials so quickly with no prior social media experience.
I started off posting one reel every day—what I call my “daily literary bite.” At the start of my Instagram and YouTube journey, I would post reels primarily of me talking about a fun literary fact for 15-30 seconds. Many of my current reels have retained this format, though I have now added others into the mix based on trial and error of what seems to get my audience most engaged. I am incredibly proud of where this project has taken me and look forward to spreading the love of literature to more audiences in the future as we grow as well.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest setback I’ve experienced as someone new to the Internet world is the amount of hate and nastiness I’ve received for putting my views out there. For instance, I am quite vocal about my disdain of Marxism given that my parents, who come from the Soviet Union, have been routinely harmed by the Marxist system. I have met many people with opposing viewpoints in real life, and in person, most people seem to engage in respectful dialogue; online, however, I was unprepared for the amount of vitriol, and this initially got me down. However, I believe that I have only grown more resilient as a result of this pushback, and I have learned a lot about how ready people are to show their true colors in more anonymous settings.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have a lot of simultaneous projects! I am most passionate about writing and literature, and after realizing that academia was not the best place to pursue my ambitions, I wanted to create a space for people to enjoy literature without the constraints of the Ivory Tower. I created Pens and Poison as a small YouTube channel to discuss my love of poetry and have since branched out to Instagram and other platforms as well. I am quite proud of the daily videos I post to spread the love of literature.
Beyond my videos, I’ve written many essays and literary analysis pieces for my Substack, which has recently attracted the attention of bigger writers such as Sherman Alexie and Gregg Easterbrook. I believe that I stand out because of my unorthodox approach to literature: there is a trend now in the academy to over-politicize literature, and I believe that we should keep politics largely out of literature and appreciate it for the profound insights it gives us on human nature. I am excited to use my Substack platform to share my love of literature through writing as well.
Finally, I have a novel in the works that I am excited to get out into the world—once I secure an agent, of course!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I love taking risks. I am entrepreneurial by nature and took a major risk leaving my full-time job back in the beginning of 2022 to be my own boss. I have since grown my full-time business in college consulting, which gives me ample time on the side to focus on my literary projects. Risk-taking is great. Highly recommend.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lizalibes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pensandpoison/
- Twitter: https://x.com/pensandpoison
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pensandpoison
- Other: https://www.pensandpoison.org/
