september 11

he has been already in the tomb…for days

John 11

for john, engine co. 33, ladder 9

…

recite three hailmarys

in double-time

trust

these young men to lead us

our fathers, uncles, cousins, and brothers

to the living

water, to the power and protection, pulsing

through me lord hands that touch

the brow of any poor lazarus

or half-doubting thomas or son

of the messenger-god who prays:

            i knew indeed that you always hear me

            but i speak for the sake of all around me

            that it was you who sent me.

now take the stone away.

© Deborah L. Humphreys

AB - To blog or not to blog, this is the question…

AB - How would you characterize your blog you should describe it to one of us, i.e. another blogger?

DH - I would say it is infrequent--as the spirit moves me. I am never quite sure of the focus. It changes. I am always enamored of blogs that I visit and try to emulate. There are times when I want to use it as Mairead Byrne does for writing exercises, but I I am not that disciplined, too self-conscious or a bit of both.  Neither do I so a lot with the back and forth dialogues about theoretical topics or current events. I maintain a web site (www.nunwhizdom.com) which I use as a more established home for poems (but it is in need of clean-up and updating)  and as a way to get gigs. I began an ocassional blog http://deborahsc.blogs.com/blasta/  about two years ago, but it needs attention. Typepad allows photoblogs as well . So since I have been doing more with photography , I have added that. I have an interest in podcasts, but it seems too much work at this time. It's all I can do right now to keep up with my email.

AB - I sometimes regard my blog as a safe place where I can meet my chosen people, is this the same for you? 

DH - For the most part I find it hard to keep up "correspondance"  or ongoing conversation on a blog, but I do like to get to meet people who are interested in some of the same interests that I have. Before I was sick, I was very involved with Yahoo Groups related to Haiku and Haiga. I think I began to see the blog as a kind of way to record my work, but I used webshots to just upload and show them.

When I was investigating Goddard College MFA-IA I went trolling the web for blogs of graduates or students in the program to get an idea of what the program was like. One person actually did a blogspot "Women Creating the World" as her practicum project. I did get a very good sense of the program and it was helpful for me in my application process.

AB - I am wondering do we sometimes forget that personal remarks, notes, poems are there for everybody to be seen?

DH - I am very aware of it from an experience I had on a listserv where the inability to convey tone of voice led to the ending of a long standing women's writing program. Misunderstanding led to flame wars and the results were very sad. It is hard enough to maintain and sustain relationships in realtime let alone a virtual community.  That is another thing that makes me cautious, not so much about written work I consider finished but commentary and remarks.

AB - Do you post many poems on your blog? Is there an actual difference in-between publishing online, mainly through a blog, or printed publishing?

DH - One of my intial thoughts was that online publishing was easier and more immediate than printed. So I think I just began to post poems. The writing process is one that is isolating and at some point I do want to share and/or get feedback on my work I don't do many poetry readings so posting poems and work on a blog seems a good compromise.

AB - What kind of actual or immaterial feedback do you receive from publishing online through a blog?

DH -I get quite a lot of hits on my sites, but not many comments--so maybe it is the way I have it structured unconsciously to dissuade commentary.

AB - What do you think of the Blogosphere when related to blogs that deal with poetry?

DH - I like to see what is new in poetry, and what is up with poets I know and respect. It does help me feel connected.

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