Joe (and Anny)
It seems you have only had limited success in drawing out the long-term
lurkers like myself. Still, you've managed to draw me out of my normal
reticence. As a silent subscriber, I read most of the posts, although I
have been lurking long enough to pay less attention to some posters than
others (just my tastes and preferences, of course - nothing personal).
Other than lack of time (I spend my days indulging in the quaint rituals
of bureaucracy), I think the greatest constraint to my active
participation is the closed-off impression that many of the list's
exchanges convey. And I'm not sure whether I have much to add to what
can be rather arcane discussions. I imagine myself sipping on Anny's cup
of tea and just shuffling my feet and clearing my throat. Perhaps an
inconsequential remark about the weather (still very dry, here).
To take up Anny's invitation: I'm Australian (though Scots by birth),
located in Canberra. I "do" workers' compensation and workplace health
and safety. I began writing poetry again (after a long post-university
silence) ten or eleven years ago. My long-delayed second book should be
coming out shortly.
Here's one I'm currently playing with:
Scissors, Paper, Rock
i.
Your blades slice my words
even as I write them;
the thin strips that are left
will not rejoin themselves.
ii.
What I have written
can cover anything:
a heart beating out time,
the sullen grey of rock.
iii.
Heft of rock in hand
and the weight of breaking:
not even your steel mind
can resist forever.
> I'm trying to think about the nature of this list, what it ought to be, how
> to make it more useful, etc.
>
> There are currently 195 subscribers to Poetryetc. During the month of
> September, 49 subscribers posted something to the list, but discounting
> those who posted only once, or who posted merely informational pieces about
> readings or blog updates, 35 members (by my count) participated in
> discussion & those discussions were further dominated (in number of posts)
> by about 20 regular contributors. I think I understand what those 20 to 35
> list members use the list for, but:
>
> Here is what I'd like to know: If you are a silent, or near-silent
> subscriber to the list, what do you use it for? Do you even read the posts?
> What would draw you toward greater participation? You can post a public
> response to these questions, of course, but if you'd like to go
> back-channel, please feel free to drop me an email at [log in to unmask]
>
> Thanks,
> Joseph Duemer
> Poetryetc Co-manager
>
>
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