What I Haven’t Been Writing about Lately

My last post wasn’t supposed to be a post. It was supposed to be a “widget” (if that’s what the kids are still calling it). I had seen the flag counter before and thought, “I want to get me one of them!” Following up on a comment left by Eva Lind of I’d Rather Be In Iceland on my last actual post, I saw she had the flag counter and I pursued it, but alas, the technology was beyond me (which is where technology is usually located). It was as if I tried to get a tattoo on my arm and it wound up on my eyelid. Eva kindly tried to help me sort it out, but it took me a couple of weeks, and now I have to start counting flags again from today. But this is not what has kept me from writing.

I didn’t write about Valentine’s Day, not that I find it a particularly worthy topic, although I did read some interesting history about it. A lot of people don’t want to think about Valentine’s Day and some are too busy enjoying it to sit and read about it. But that didn’t keep me from writing.

Talking to a Brazilian student last week, I was reminded that Carnival 2012 was underway. She gave me lots of material to consider, but I thought I’d rather join the local celebrations than stay home and write about it. But I did neither; that’s not what kept me from writing.

I’ve been reading a lot this month, much of it having been on my mind since I was writing about Black History Month, but they were books that have been on my “read soon” list for some time. The autobiographical Life of Josiah Henson (brief, compelling, uplifting) and the classic which it inspired, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, (more of historical than literary interest); Edugyan’s Half-Blood Blues, uncommonly deserving of the Giller Prize it won, got me interested in investigating a number of topics I will write about later; and I finally started Hill’s annotated The Book of Negroes (derived from the document of that name). But it wasn’t the reading that impeded my writing.

Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan

What has kept me from writing is writing. I’m working on that play for the Toronto Fringe Festival; the wheels were spinning for a few days, but now I’ve got traction again. I refurbished a short story which my stupendous new writing group thoughtfully critiqued for me. And I have written a review of the documentary play “Seeds” (Schmeiser vs. Monsanto) which you can now read at http://www.postcity.com.

Thank you to those who expressed curiosity about my apparent lack of output. My concern, until this recent pause, has been that people will want a break from my writings. There’s more to come, and I’ll take suggestions and consider requests. Tell me want you want or I’ll give what I’ve got.