Somebody I know wrote me, and said this amongst other private things:

I’ve been reading your words about Canada Council on Goodreads. Every generation of emerging artists, since the mid 80’s and rise of Jesse Helms-like sentiments towards the arts, have seen a decline in opportunities and support and a rise in competition. As well we see a system stretching to help more senior artists enjoy a level of support to match their accomplishments and stages in their careers. I know that I’ve gone to conferences and see a lot of late 40 somethings and 20 somethings, but there is a definite void in the 30-40 range. I think that a lot of people from the generation of initial public cutbacks were actually forced to stop producing and participating and went on to something else outside the art world. Its a sad lesson. And I agree that the only real solution is to lobby for more money for the Canada Council.