Category: A. G. Moore

Poetry: A Challenge for Me

Yesterday on this blog I explained how stakeholders on the Steemit blockchain have created their own blockchain entity: Hive Blog. Today I tried something new on Hive. Why not? a new blockchain, a new beginning for me.

I wrote poetry.

My formal training is in history and the humanities. I’ve done a lot of writing in my time, but poetry has always been beyond my skills. Rhymes are not important but music in the language is. That takes innate talent, I think, to pull off.

Well, today I settled for less than perfect and had a great time. The wonderful thing about the blockchain is its sense of community, which allows me to explore without a sense of risk. Of course there are negative elements, but that’s true in every society. But, stick to the right neighborhoods, and the experience is all positive.

There is a neighborhood call The Ink Well which was started by a truly talented writer, @raj808. This is where I published my poetry. It never feels risky writing within the Ink Well community. Welcoming people, helpful critiques. All good.

I’ll share just a bit of one poem, to give you an idea of how it ‘sounded’. Remember, I’m looking for music, and I don’t write poetry:


Folk trekked to Delphi Lodge
Where squires lunched
On mutton and black pudding

The poem was inspired by the 1949 Famine March of Doolough, which took place during the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. I learned as I did research for this poem, that there was an even more devastating famine in Ireland during the previous century. The difference between the two was that the first was considered mostly a consequence of natural events and the second was compounded by colonial policy.

If you have a sense of adventure, check out our community on Hive Blog. There are many communities, but you can start with this one.

Next week I’ll post the poem in its entirety. Thanks for reading. Everybody, stay safe.

by Categories: A. G. Moore, Blogging, Creative Writing, Poetry, WritingTags: , , , Leave a comment

Sometimes, Your Audience Simply Doesn’t Like It

I wrote a blog this week and was so satisfied with it. Unfortunately, my audience did not seem to share that view. Only the kindest of my followers stopped to comment, and only the most loyal stopped to vote. So I’m left to ask,”Should I have assessed the interests of my audience more accurately? Or was I correct in writing exactly what I planned to write?” I guess the answer to those questions depends on my reason for blogging in the first place.

This is actually a profound question, because it’s about more than writing. Do I answer to myself, or someone else when I set goals. Is there an ideal in my head when I start a project, or am I constantly testing the waters around me to see what others expect?

How do I live my life? Of course I don’t live in a bubble. Wouldn’t last long if I did that. But I also can’t live in a balloon that drifts about in response to the slightest breeze, the slightest suggestion of displeasure.

I’m going to share the essence of that unsuccessful blog here. I still like it, though perhaps I could have explained the theme better. Perhaps my message was too subtle. I’m very anti-war. I know, I know, there are probably times when everyone has to come to the defense of their particular group. But generally I believe war benefits a few and most who die and suffer don’t really know why that fate has befallen them.

The picture at the top of the page is a still from a GIF I created for the blog. This was part of a collage contest. If you’d like to see how that looks as a GIF, just click on the link and you will be connected to my Steemit blog.

Associated with the picture was a brief history of gunpowder and cannons–mostly gunpowder. I emphasized the toll these inventions have taken on life. But maybe I was too tongue-in-cheek.

If you read the blog, please let me know. How does it sit with you?

I would write the blog again, but perhaps put in some pictures of flowers and birds. People like that stuff. Maybe a few dogs and cats.

One thing I know for sure: never blame the audience. If I write for myself, then I should be happy that I please myself. And if I write for an audience, then I should always keep that audience in mind. A good writer, I guess, strikes a balance.

Ah, we’re back to life again. A well-lived life is a balanced life. That’s what they say, anyway.

by Categories: A. G. Moore, Blogging, WritingTags: , , 2 Comments

Ideas That Blossom and Those That Don’t

It surprises me sometimes when I see the number of writing forums where people are offered prompts. Sometimes these prompts are offered to elicit pieces with a common theme. In that case, the writing is almost a creative Rorschach test. Outcomes are compared and we gain insight into the writers through their interpretation of the prompt.

Sometimes, however, prompts are offered because people lack ideas. The prospective authors need a little push, kindling to get the creative fires burning. This deficit of ideas perplexes me.

Where is the child who lacks ideas? That child does not exist. Children’s imaginations are so rich that sometimes they get lost in their imagined worlds. We may come upon them in a kind of reverie, as they entertain people, or creatures, who are invisible to us.

What happens to the child’s imagination? Does the child willingly leave it behind, or is it ‘schooled’ out of existence by parents, teachers and counselors?

It seems the effort to stultify imagination has increased in recent years. There’s no time for art, for music, for self-expression. These are trivial pursuits and are gradually being erased from school curricula.

Parents follow suit. They must prepare their children for the ‘real’ world: math, technology, science, computers. These will be the tools necessary for survival in the modern economy.

But there is something overlooked. Each of these fields is fueled by ideas. The leaders in these fields will be creatives, those who can imagine what others cannot see. The Einsteins, the Curies and the Pasteurs worked hard, but they imagined horizons beyond those that already existed.

As we prepare our children to lead rich lives and to become leaders–innovators–in society, we must not train them to be drones. They should not think of themselves as filling a mold, but as, perhaps creating a new form.

I don’t think the fire of inspiration–imagination–dies a natural death. I don’t think people, as a matter of course and a reflection of maturity, run out of ideas. I think this wonderful gift is ‘trained’ out of them.

Perhaps, if we find ourselves in need of prompts, we might retrain our minds. We might spend time doing nothing but thinking and imagining. If we give our minds a chance, we might be able to reawaken the child in each of us.

by Categories: A. G. Moore, Art, Child DevelopmentTags: , , , , , , Leave a comment