I’ve been thinking about bragging. These days we call it promotion. Social media is thick with it. Bragging used to be frowned upon, but it doesn’t seem to be that way so much anymore. I get it. I try to promote Solace in So Many Words and my writing. That’s professional promotion that’s seems required these days when we each have a persona we present to the world. But let’s not get into the branding of Ellen Wade Beals--ouch. How about when it comes to personal … [Read more...]
Puckered and blurred
Sometimes I come across things that aren’t necessarily solace-y but I want to share anyway. They amuse me somehow. Such is the case with a definition I came across. It’s from the article “Why It Pays to Be a Jerk” written by Jerry Useem in the latest (vol. 315, no. 5) issue of The Atlantic. The lengthy article considers all the facets of success, jerkiness, and niceness. I was particularly happy to read a specific citation, which quotes Aaron James from his 2012 book, … [Read more...]
Can Poetry Matter?
As I have said in earlier blogs, I always knew I wanted to be a writer. (And I feel fortunate that my path seemed so clear for me.) One article that helped me to think about being a writer, a poet in particular, was Dana Gioa’s “Can Poetry Matter?” which first ran way back in May 1991 in The Atlantic Monthly. The essays begins: "American Poetry now belongs to a subculture. No longer part of the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life, it has become the specialized … [Read more...]