Friday, October 15, 2021

happy friday the 13th

That's Poetry Friday and THE 13TH ANNIVERSARY of my juicy little universe!  Yes, the earliest post you can see on this blog was posted on this day thirteen years ago in 2008.  

Yes, that time now seems blurry & far-off...

Before that I blogged at LiveJournal about our year in France when the kids were 5 and 8, and I am pleasantly surprised to discover that the Internet indeed never forgets and that you can read approximately 20 photoillustrated posts from that year here.

A couple of years ago I used BlogBooker to download my entire juicy little universe as both Word doc and PDF, so that I could cull all the poems I've published here over the years.  It was definitely worth the $20 I spent and it resulted in a document--a book--of about 2100 pages!  That's an oeuvre to be proud of for its sheer volume, and you all helped to write some of it, since comments were included in this tome.

Not every post has been earth-shatteringly brilliant, but occasionally I find one that I only barely remember writing and which seems to me to be notable.  These Big Idea posts usually include a poem, but having culled the poems, they aren't surprising; the "essays" are, however.

Shall I share them with you, as a way of cataloguing them for myself?* Or shall I resort to the tried-and-true acrostic commemoration of this part of my poetic life online?

Oh wait--I already did that in 2016 on the 8th anniversary.  Here's the acrostic, and it still holds true.

So I'm absolved from writing an anniversary poem this year, and instead I'll just drop a few links for those fans of my writing who have time on their hands--but not before repeating that none of this--just about none of my later writing life--would have happened if I hadn't had a Poetry Friday audience to share it with. 

For a performative person (I think performative has not entirely become a dirty word, has it?), knowing that someone might read, comment, appreciate, critique has made an enormous difference to my motivation and commitment to write just about weekly.  And equally important is the knowledge that, even when I have skipped a week or stepped back for a time, I'd be welcomed back. Thanks to all of you who make this forum, this community.  I'm grateful to know you all--some of you even in person!!

Our host today is Bridget over at Wee Words for Wee Ones, and although TEN is technically a wee word, it is a very big deal because Bridget's 10*10 anthology has become a reality!!!   

*****************************************************************************

*Here are a few I think are worth rereading.

On this one, my first bloggiversary, Tabatha is the sole commenter--some while before we realized that we were neighbors and that our kids went to the same middle and then high school magnet programs! 

https://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-dishwasher-of-my-mind.html 
Some science, some psychology, some education policy, plenty of connections. 
 
I consider identity and visibility.
 
This is the one where I interviewed Irene Latham and Liz Steinglass about the history, trajectory and themes of the Progressive Poem.

My first dedicated climate action post, I think, and I'm proud of the list near the bottom of what we as communicators (writers, poets, teachers) can do to make change.



15 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Heidi!! I'm hoping to dive into some of these links later. Isn't it weird when you discover something that you can barely (if at all) remember writing? I'm still mourning the loss of my blog from our family sailing adventure. As far as I can tell, it's an exception to the rule of "the Internet never forgets." You've also reminded me that I have meant to check out BlogBooker--thanks for that nudge!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy blogiversary, Heidi! Your post, and your blog in general, is brimming with juicy little tidbits of awesome as has been the case for some years now! Your anniversary acrostic definitely still rings true, "Revels, relations, revelations live here" indeed. *cheers!*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Anniversary! Thirteen years is a huge accomplishment. Having blogged for about a year now, I agree that the PF community is awesome. It has helped me so much in teaching me about form and poets and made me a more careful writer, and that includes your and your work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations, Heidi. You're 2 years ahead of me & like you, I did another blog, this time with/for students. You are right about the surety of being 'heard'. I found my students loved that their classmates were reading their posts, prose or poetry, instead of only their teacher. I love the acrostic, really that first line is perfect. It is "All Threads and trains." Keep writing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hooray! I am celebrating too as I have benefitted from the wonderful work published here. And, yes! Your acrostic holds up very, very well. Connecting to you is one of the happinesses of my life.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Heidi,
    You continually grow, reach out, share, intrigue and cultivate. 13 years is epic in being one with a full time teaching job with usually young kids. That takes a lot of energy in my opinion. I look forward to a return to read what you are linking to. I enjoy your blog; you make me think and want to do better, try more and wonder harder. I am so grateful for the Poetry Friday community.
    Janet Clare F.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Heidi, allow me to congratulate you on your commitment to these poetic spaces. Your longevity is admirable and has no doubt been sustained by the ongoing support that exists here. May you continue to stimulate those thoughts and ideas of others and may you continue to gain sustenance from your fellow poeteers. Thank you also for the blog booker alert.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congratulations on the blogversary!!

    Your tribute to the Poetry Friday community is spot on. Your conTRIBUTion to the PF community has lifted the level of our poetry and our consciences (climate posts). I am lucky to be one of the peeps who knows you in person!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Heidi, congratulations on this 13th anniversary. I have learned a lot from you in the last year. I agree performative isn't an altogether bad thing! Having readers and commenters is motivating and fun. Enjoy your next 13 years.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congratulations on your 13th blog anniversary! I so agree with what you say about Poetry Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy Blogiversary!! 13 years is no small feat. So glad to have crossed paths via Poetry Friday -- the best online community around.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Blogiversary. congrats on 13 years. I am a lucky person to have met you through Poetry Fridays.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congratulations on your 13 Blogiversary Heidi! Love the Anniversary poem, particulary,
    "Vocabulary, voice, venom or valentine--
    and all you've share with all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I missed this, as I've missed so much in the past few months. Happy Blog Birthday! I love what you write, and I'm happy to be part of your devoted audience!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congrats on your Bloversary. It is a great accomplishment with your responsibility to

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!