Your Serendipity @ Thursday Thoughts

7:52 a.m. — Atlanta

listening to Mumford & Sons — Google Play has their album Babel on sale for $3.99!

Well, I had a topic. Hello, all. I did. I had a topic, but when I looked for my notes, yesterday, they were nowhere to be seen. I saw them only a few days ago. They are in a finite item: my Thursday Thoughts notebook. Now they aren’t. That means a little tap dancing, and that would be why ViV’s suggestion of ‘Your Serendipity,’ as part of the title, is apt.

We’re going to pull from the grab bag, which means we might find things a couple of years old. Ignore dates; I will check that everything and everyone is still around, if needed.

1] We start with a link to an article Risk & Point of View, by Chicks Dig Poetry. This is a topic we all have some interest in. Whether that’s you, or not, the article is well-written and presented. The author states ‘But I think point of view is undervalued as a determinant of tension. The POV you choose helps shape the risks your poem can take‘. Sounds like you should read it, doesn’t it? Go on over.

2] Next, we have a link for the enjoyment of your ear and eye, 10 spoken word performances, folded like lyrical origami gathered by TED talks. There’s quite a variety, but aside from enjoyment, I find these performances helpful to me for how they play with the sound of words, and the repetition of sounds. It doesn’t even matter whether I like, or don’t like, a performance. I can still learn something about writing poetry.

3] A visit to our regular, The Rag Tree, is third. The premise of his article is that ‘Language in many respects is identity, the way that we think; it defines us in the world. And speaking a language is power, the ability to communicate, to become involved in community‘. He gives two more reasons for learning a new language, but the bonus is his links to a couple of Scottish Gaelic sites. I found myself over at the BBC one, dutifully repeating phrases and feeling delighted. Gaelic is a language that has baffled me and I don’t much like baffled. Now I can learn some rudiments.

4] The fourth article, found on the site Write to Done, is an elucidation of how writers can use Google+ to their benefit. The author states, ‘In this post, I’ll be outlining the top tactics for writers to use Google+ to brand themselves, reach their target audience, and create an author platform‘. I can hear people rearing back. Trust me here. Under each business-like heading I found things that apply to groups and individuals of all kinds, whether they plan to post poetry, publish poetry, talk about poetry, critique poetry, or read poetry. Check it out.

5] Visit Debbie Ridpath Ohi for a laugh. I chose a specific that many of us can relate to: Where the hell is my muse? Sob.

Okay, gang. Happy browsing and writing.