Friday 8/2/24
The following is a letter sent on Thursday, July 11, 2024 to Melinda Lewis, editor of The Smart Set, with Erica Levi Zelinger, the managing editor responsible for the site's content beginning in spring 2023, cc'ed, in response to a note sent to me by Lewis which also cc'ed Zelinger.
As with the earlier letter, I am entering it into this record so that I may link back to it with forthcoming entries and it will not need to take up space in those entries with what it details.
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It does not matter at this point.
This was how I attempted to begin my relationship with Erica. She ignored the letter.
You can say whatever you wish about different styles and what not, but we all know that's not what was happening here. What style would this be, besides truly awful writing:
"I toyed with dreams of becoming a filmmaker myself at the time, as there seemed to be a resurgence of African film because thanks to a shifting global media landscape and available grant money, filmmakers here started securing funding, however, after realizing the level of skill and financial backing required just to get started, I opted to revise my approach to breaking into the film industry."
You remember that piece (https://www.thesmartset.com/the-creator-almost-broke-me/).
I can go through and do it with all of them. They're bad.
You both countenanced a sociopath--for that's what Matt Hanson is--sending me what he sent me with his note about guns and murder. It was very clear from the start what was happening with Erica, with me, and it had nothing to do with my work. Want to put my writing beside anything by anyone else in that journal? Because I do that on the blog.
I have all of these letters from the sociopath that is Matt Hanson fawning over my work. One compliment after another. And then, when I wouldn't meet with him for lunch to hook him up with editors, he started doing what he did. I am so non-confrontational, that I didn't bring this up with you. For years. It was only when it was blatant that I was being discriminated against by Erica that I said, enough.
But you were both okay with it. You both knew about it, and you were okay with it. There's nothing you can say in defense of that. And you know what? It's not being whitewashed away here. You, Melinda, were the boss. This was your ambit. You had worked with me for seven years, and you knew that not once had I ever raised a peep about anything, even as I, with my career, was writing 4000 word pieces on spec, which was beyond the pale absurd, but I did it. You know who I am and how professional--and kind--I am in all of my interactions.
Why on earth would you tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone? It is crazy that you allowed him to continue on and you made me some bad guy. Do you think I don't have records and receipts of all of this? Timestamps? Are you trying to destroy your own career? What were you thinking? What hubris--and hate--must you possess and be possessed by to think you could get away with all of this?
So, no. No one is getting away with anything here. Like I said, everything has been screenshot. The Smart Set can go belly up, but I am going to publicly document the truth, as pertains to all involved. And it is going to follow Erica around for the rest of her career, at every step. It will be right there at the top of Google for anyone who looks her up.
And Erica: You can pay someone a lot of money--which you'll have to keep re-upping--in order to try and scrub this factual and truthful accounting about yourself from Google. But that won't do you any good, because beyond that being a clear admittance of guilt, there will be a special section on my site, so that this is right out in the open for everyone who comes to that site.
There's no defense for your actions. I did nothing to you. Putting the work side by side makes a mockery of that which is by the other person. Did you really love the Matt Hanson piece that began, "To my rue"? To my rue? It's embarrassing. You were out of your depth here. Which is one thing. I can roll with that. I've dealt with plenty of incompetent editors.
But when you decided to discriminate against me, because of who I am, what I've done, what I can do, what I constantly do--for those were the reasons--you created a problem for me, which in turn has created a problem for you that is never going to go away.
Enjoy your long weekend.
Colin
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