The letter above, in two separate images, is the one
circulated to CPA members. It seems clear and innocuous enough but is startling
in its deceit. The reality is much simpler. The independent editor has been
removed and has not been given the choice to return. The new 'guest' editor is
a CPA member and, I believe, former chair of the CPA council. The editorial,
far from being 'no longer in-house' is about as 'in-house' as it could get. The
notion of a 'guest' here is meaningless since there is no editor, as such, to
invite the guest. Moreover, and, arguably, even more worrying, there is no
mention whatsoever of the writing, editorial, or publishing experience of any
of these people comprising this new, collective, editorship. The appointment of
Jack Doherty as the new 'guest' editor has now been announced on the Ceramic
Review Facebook page. The first comment it attracted sums it all up nicely:
'The maffia (sic) strikes again.' The first comment to arrive on my share
of the document above was, 'What worries me is that the same (one or two)
people are now in charge of who gets into the CPA, who gets into Ceramic Art
London AND what is published in Ceramic Review.' Quite. I wouldn't argue
with a single word of either of those two comments.
