8:37 a.m.–Atlanta
Dear readers, if you were with me last week you know that I am giving you a continued break from my conversation on words to avoid, but have no fear; we shall return to the list next Thursday. We are almost all the way through and can turn our sights in new directions.
This week I must fulfill my obligations as a nominee for the Versatile Blogger, as there are laws. This will be a long one so you may want to grab a cup of coffee, turn on some music, or read it in parts.You would not believe how difficult it is to come up with seven random facts about myself. Facts, yes; but what makes one random over another? I decided to wait until I sat at my keyboard and throw out exactly what surfaces in my brain:
1. I speak, read and write Greek. Useful when I lived there, not so much now.
2. Between the ages of 38 and 45, I became a teacher; discovered I can sing; found that while I am phobic about public speaking, I adore acting and became a lead actor in Jakarta’s play group; and started writing poetry. All these came about through moments of serendipity.
3.I love any kind of sausage.
4. I would love to have a borzoi, but will settle happily for a pug. No, they could not be more different.
5. My husband gave me a pistol for a wedding present; I gave him a cut glass decanter. Thirty-nine years later we are still happily married.
6. I hate shoes, or much of anything, on my feet. If I could, I would walk barefoot always.
7. I have a love-hate relationship with technology.
Whew! Next, and this was no easier, I am supposed to nominate fifteen blogs for the Versatile Blogger award. Do you know how difficult that is? The Rag Tree does, as do many other worthy past recipients. I mentioned before that my first choice would be Eric Quinn of The Rag Tree who embodies versatility, but he just received the award and is my nominator. Rats!
It’s not that there are not many good blogs which I read and enjoy; it’s the word versatile. But, my training saved me. I looked up versatile. Some of the lesser known meanings are to be engaged in something, resourceful, turning over in the mind…I can work with that! But I don’t think I will reach fifteen…
My first nominee is Put Words Together. Make Meaning. Donna Vorreyer and her blog answer to all the meanings of versatile, both greater and lesser. Many of you know her through The Poetry Tow Truck that I post every Friday for its prompt. Her prompts are one of three sites I look forward to with anticipation each week. The prompts are thoughtful, interesting and fun. Beyond that, Donna writes stunning poetry and never minds sharing it while still in draft form. I have learned much that helps my own writing, by reading her poetry. And I enjoy the personal parts of her life that she shares occasionally and always with humour and grace.
My next nominee keeps three blogs that I know of. You can find Elizabeth Crawford at 1Sojounal where she invites us to play along with her in finding and using new words; Unraveling, where she shares her photography and the process of her turning the photographs into a different art form; and Soul’s Music, where she posts her poetry. All are worth exploring and, indeed, I want to go back and play with the new words…
Jessie Carty is my next nominee. I am not sure I have ever met anyone with the energy and passion Jessie has. Every second of her life is filled with doing. Her blog offers several attractions: On Mondays, Jessie runs a small group MFA type program; Tuesdays are shoutouts and can lead to new people and places; Wednesdays are reserved for writing about writing; Thursdays are for poem shares; and Fridays Jessie usually gives a status report on her submissions, and I don’t think there is a genre Jessie does not submit work to.
Poets United is the brain child of Robert Lloyd and is more than a blog. It is a community of writers. There are different functions for each day of the week, such as interviews with members, sharing favourite poets and poems, prompts, blog of the week, poem of the week, and a day for posting member poems. Everything revolves around and is generated for and by members. Earlier this year Robert’s passion to support other poets led to an anthology by the members of Poets United. And, his passion is infectious. If you don’t know the group, stop by and look.
Everyone still with me? I’m exhausted. My thought is to nominate one more and then take a break from this part of the process and come back to it in a couple of weeks. What’s that? You all agree. Well, who am I to gainsay my readers.
This fifth one may not be for everyone and comes under the definition engaged in something. But for all you coffee lovers, this is your blog. Their mission at Coffee | Served Daily, is to document 1000 cups of coffee. They think they will hit 500 in June. On their site you can link to each of the cups of coffee photographed and posted to them by many coffee drinkers and you, too, can become one of them. How can you resist?
Now I am going to get a real cup of coffee. If you think someone will like this post, click the buttons below. I shall see you tomorrow for the week’s roundup of prompts, Tuesday for cascade poems and Thursday for more words to avoid [you know you miss them]. Happy writing.