…and then there were four.

From left: Turboblues (2007), Roadside Truckstop (2009), Adventures In Ordinary Time (2010), Primal Soul (2015).

Each a little bit of me, all available in print, or through Amazon for Kindle, and Google Books as well, save for the latest one.

The Basement Tapes

I have a new blog up where I will be putting some old stuff.

How old?

There was a definite beginning to my writing poetry. I took a creative writing class when I was a Junior in High School ad that was where it all started. Some of those will be there. They’re rough. Whew!

I am putting these up mainly because they lack a home in either of my books. And, there is historic value. Not to you, no. To me, yes. Very much so. These pages, some brown with time (not the material), are one of a kind and once lost are gone forever. I might actually have a family someday (unlikely sure, but fuck you for thinking I can’t) and want to have these where they can be seen.

There are a couple of old pieces I’d frankly forgot about that I think deserve to see the light of day. One is called The Bottle. The other, one of those originals, is called Memories. No need to waste ink on them though, that’s what the web is for!

The basement tapes are here. Let me know what you think.

Premia Dardos

So before, I mentioned the quandary I was in. Well, here ’tis…

A lovely lady and wonderful artist named Patrice has selected me for the Premia Dardos. Here is the lowdown on this award…

The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

The rules:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog. [Note: Don’t forget to copy and paste the award jpeg itself to include on your own blog!]
2) Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

Hmph.

Now as is typical of me, I am teeth-grittingly self-deprecating about any compliment. This is because secretly I am also such a slut for recognition and external validation that no possible amount of sincere acknowledgement could satisfy me. Paradoxically, this is because I hate myself that much, and yet possess such a ridiculous ego nothing I do is good enough for me.

Hah! How’s that for truth?

Actually, when I found out that Patrice was actually reading this fool blog of mine, I was taken aback. Seriously, when I started this it was partly because Pete Townshend maintained a blog here (he doesn’t anymore). I dropped a few entries in here, then started working it in earnest when I finally published Turboblues. This was also when I had a lighter, more powerful computer I didn’t have to tear apart to maintain.

But I didn’t think anyone would actually read it. Really, I didn’t. But she did. And does. So too do a few others.

I love you all. Seriously, simply.

Anyway, she sent me the e-mail about Premia Dardos on Wednesday and was actually stunned by it, and by her words about my writing. Of course, I was also saying, “YES!! Put that in your pipe naysayers!”

Like I actually have sayers, yay or nay. As I said in the last blog entry (scroll down for it), This is just something I do. I am trying to be honest about what’s going on in my life and what goes on in my head and heart.

I never considered myself an artist–really I still don’t. I’ve met people for whom the title is probably more appropriate, and whose works feel much more deliberate than my own. Patrice is one of those people. I can tell this by the work she posts and the words she writes. My oldest friend Marcy is also one of these people. Hers is a formidable talent that took time to find its voice, and it’s a voice well-matched to the depth she possesses. See her Embrasures blog and you will understand quickly what I’ve known for almost 25 years.

If Patrice hadn’t already nominated her, Marcy would have been my first choice right out of the box. I think she knows that too. Sorry to be obvious Marcy, but this is sincere.

Which leads me to my quandary (finally, right? Up yours, this is my blog). Rule one is a simple one to follow. I gratefully accept this compliment that Patrice has graced upon me. Humbly. She did not have to at all, and yet she did. Thank you Patrice. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Rule two, however, is gonna be a bitch. Other than this here blog, I haven’t read much of the blogosphere. A few here and there, but not much. And out of respect to Patrice, and you the reader, and the rest of the blogs and journals out there I need to be straight on that.

So what I will do is this: I will pick the five blogs that I believe would deserve this recognition, and I will tell you about them as I find them. Each one will get an entry here. It’s going to take some time, but this will be something of a discovery for me, and I want to share that with you.

So, more later.