A Year In Blogland

...But the weeks go by
Like birds; and the years, the years
Fly past anti-clockwise
Like clock hands in a bar mirror.

-Derek Mahon, from 'Dream Days'


For the record, I am not writing this entry while nursing a drink, whatever the above quotation may make it sound like. I did, however, want to write a brief entry noting that it's just over a year since I began blogging. (October 4th was the anniversary date, and serendipitously, that was also National Poetry Day.)

This seems like a good moment to say thanks to those who have supported the Facebook page, too. For those who have not yet seen it, I always post links to the blog entries there, but I also post quotations, links to poems I've enjoyed, poetry-related articles and news, and so on. Any "likes" from Facebook users are always much appreciated.

I'm quite surprised that I have managed to write so much over the course of a year, and I am even more surprised and pleased that a good many people seem to have appreciated what is mostly just me rambling about some poems I enjoy and how they remind me of bits of my life. It has been quite gratifying that I've been told both by some who are far more immersed in the poetry world than I am, and by some who wouldn't usually turn to poetry, that they have liked the blog.

Being a past-master in the art of procrastination, I have occasionally wondered if this is all just a grand exercise in putting more important things off: writing my own poetry, for instance, and other even more essential aspects of life... For many years I've had a hard time deciding if I am more of a creator or a curator, and the evidence would tend to suggest the latter. But I can't quite decide. If I were only more organised, I could get everything done and probably with ample time to spare.

I also wanted to say that I very much invite suggestions for what you might like to see on the blog. I think I am going to be diversifying just a little more over the next while, but the format is probably going to stay about the same. I do think that I could stand to branch out in my subject matter...the dominance of Dead White Guys on the blog is somewhat alarming.

Thanks for reading!