Tag Archives: Poetry

About Me | noh where haiku

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About Me | noh where haiku.

About Me

I started my blog in April (I think) of 2011 with Google Blogger (Crowsfete).  I have met some wonderful people here and have enjoyed the conversations.  I have primarily posted poetry, since that is what I write.  I am not greatly attached to my writing.  It is just something that I do and enjoy.  I am honored to have others read it and I thoroughly enjoy reading the poetry of others.  It has never occurred to me to “get” published.  That is until I began writing war poetry.  The Poetry of War is my passion and aside from writing it I have a fairly nice library of war poetry.  I do wish to publish my war poetry.  And I will, when I get around to it.

Initially I blogged at Google Blogger but I have since changed to Word Press this past fall and call my blog Raven’s Press.  You will see that I have added memoir to that blog.  I must write a memoir.  This idea for a memoir has been inspired by the discovery of my mother’s two WWII Scrapbooks.  They are filled with photos, newspaper articles, jokes, ration cards, tea-dance cards, side trips, all sorts of administrative memorabilia, post cards and letters home and to and from beaus of her time and work for the OWI in London.  I have nothing but these two scrapbooks.  I have put together a bibliography of London during WWII, women in WWII on both sides of the Atlantic and on the OWI … about which there is little public information.  Although since I started looking in 2006 over the Internet the information available t me about the OWI is increasing as more of the LOC is becoming digitized.  The OWI is an acronym for The Office of War Information and the LOC is another for the Library of Congress.

I am retired.  I spent 25 years in heath care.  The most rewarding part of that time spent working with those who had HIV/AIDS.  I also had a women’s fashion boutique.  I loved it!  I love fashion it is such fun.  And at 65 it is a bit of a challenge.  I returned to school and finished my Masters in gerontology with an emphasis on creative wring.  Since retiring I have spent time serving of boards.  Now I have stopped board work to write.

So today, well I am going to work for a community much cherished, the GLBT elder community.  It will be good to again do volunteer work that is not board work … hands on, “real work.”

So I am old, crafty, stylish, shape shifter, loyal, kind, animal lover … who takes no prisoners nor any B.S.  Cares deeply for those who serve their country especially those who have seen combat.  Fighter for GLBT rights.  Understands the value of shamanic healing … especially when working with those who have combat PTSD.  Is in love with her best friend to whom she has been married 30 years this October (known each other 35, been together 33 … yup, think I’ll keep him). A bit of a dilettante. Retired, down to two dogs and two cats. Lives in a gated community with two gates separating the cats from the dogs; otherwise we would have no animals just floating fur rugs.

As I said my main blog where I write poetry and memoir is called Raven’s Press.  I hope that you will visit me there.  The URL is: http://ravenpress.wordpress.com/

As I finish this paragraph … this blog is still empty.  It will be for Haiku and other Japanese forms of poetry along with Photography.  I love Haiku, but to write it and appreciate it I must be a bit secluded … thus this yet empty website.  I have been working on it’s appearance … building it and I am finally happy with it … I think.

And now … several months later, I am hooked on haiku.

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A Foray Into the Blogosphere | MUSING BY MOONLIGHT

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A Foray Into the Blogosphere | MUSING BY MOONLIGHT.

A Foray Into the Blogosphere

POET, WRITER, DARN GOOD HOME COOK

In my life before chronic, potentially life-threatening illness, I was – among other things – a freelance feature writer, grant writer, publicist and, for six years, On the Job Front columnist. My topic specialties were employment, vocational education, and business. The unexpected gift of medical retirement is the time to indulge in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and memoir, largely to leave a record behind for my son.

I started blogging in November 2008. Blogging is a creative indulgence that is also forgiving of inconsistent performance. Blog posts can be pre-scheduled, a convenience that accommodates unpredictable down days, medical appointments, or medical procedures. The convenience of a laptop to work on is that I can take it to bed with me. Blogging, social networking, and email also serve to mitigate the isolation that naturally occurs when illness strikes. I recommend both blogging and social networking as a part of anyone’s quality-of-life strategy for dealing with illness. I’m grateful to my gentle, tech-savvy son, who is also my tech advisor. Among his uncountable kindnesses to me, he has kept me in computers for the past twenty-five years.

All of my blogs are on WordPress.com. I’ve not found any other service to be as friendly; and, yes they add advertising to my posts. I see it this way: throughout time artists have had patrons. In a very real sense, WordPress is our patron.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING HERE!

In October 2011 I started a new blog, Poem Alone, for those folks who are most interested in poetry and prefer to forgo the extras included at my primary playground ~

My primary playground is here at Musing by Moonlight:

a potpourri of poetry, memoir, feature articles, music, and book and movie reviews. Generally posts daily. This site includes: Sunday Writers’ Roundup (except during vacation and on weekends off), Musical Monday, and Tuesday on the Light Side. 

You can visit me also at Brooklyn, Memories Most Green:

poetry, people, places, food, memoir, and folk history from the Center of the Universe. Posting to this site is inconsistent usually – but not always – once a week.

Courtesy of Paper.li, I publish a weekly news aggregate: Brooklyn: Center of the Universe. This is another miracle of the Internet. You can set something like this up. Once done, it maintains itself. I take great pleasure in reading this paper, which allows me to keep up on my home town. It is also out there as a gift for those who share my love of Brooklyn.

… and, in collaboration with grandkitty, The Cat’s Meow:

a collection of sweet, savory, and funny animal posts mostly done with a light touch to brighten your work week. Posts Monday through Friday. One of the restrictions of my illness is that I am no longer allowed furry companions. This blog gives me and everyone who visits it a little critter comfort.

And then there’s Jamie’s Table:

a space to share plant-based recipes, which are serene (cruelty free), sustainable (plant-based diets are kind to the environment as well as to your body), gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, and budget-wise. This blog also shares health, nutrition, and animal-welfare news.

Additionally, I founded, edit, and am the administrator for Into the Bardo, a collaborative that is both spiritual and creative. There are three key writers of which I am one. Many other fine writers and some spiritual teachers generously contribute with their own beauty, talent, and insights. You can link to my contributions to Into the Bardo HERE.

Freedom of speech « artismysanity

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Freedom of speech « artismysanity.

Before leaving, I wanted to share this poem with you. We read it in Contemporary Lit. I, and I pinned to my bedroom door years ago, to remember every day. We have to stop them from robbing us of our voice and our freedom!

Do whatever is in your power to stop SOPA/PIPA, even if you don’t live in the US.

“The first night
They approach
And pick a flower from our garden
And we don’t say anything.
The second night,
No longer hiding, they
Stomp on the flowers, kill our dog,
And we don’t say anything.
Until one day
The weakest of them
Enters our house alone
Robs us of light, and,
Knowing our fear,
Robs us of the voice of our throats.
And because we said nothing,
We no longer can say anything.”

- Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930).

Plucked from the pages of the WordPress Blog: artismysanity