Re-committment

Viva brownfemipower! Si, se puede!

I don't have much time this morning, so no lengthy explanations about what recommitting means---just that I am overjoyed that bfp is doing just that, in the way that is best (most sustaining) for her.

Even before all the recent cyclical bullshit to come down the pike (and if you're here, you probably already know what I'm talking about), I've been thinking about how to get back to what broughtme here to begin with. Bfp's shutting down her blog brought some clarity to me, as I thought about what I loved best about her blog:

• the "radical digest" format. The posting/linking of news stories gleaned from other sources (from traditional media, alternative media, blogs, radio, podcasts, etc.) along with commentary, critique, analysis and announcement of educational and/or activist events made it an essential one-stop. I always learned something there.


• the focus on labor, as well as the not-overtly-stated-but-there-just-the-same examples given on how people integrate activism into their working lives. At bfp's blog, it was always a given that the reading audience had a lot on their plates, too. Her blog was a living example of how to find room for making shit happen; that lesson was a necessary reminder to me.


• the personal was sure the hell political (still is). My favorite writers have always been those who wrote viscerally, brought their whole damn selves into it, and weren't afraid to reveal themselves on the page. Unfortunately, some of those folks are dead (Molly Ivins, June Jordan, Mike Royko, etc.). It's a form of writing that has fallen out of favor in journalism for reasons unknown to me----probably has something to do with the pretense of 'objectivity', and more likely is related to the homogenization of the mainstream media after deregulation (don't ask me how that works---"the more boring and drab we make it, the more people will respond to the writing and buy our newspaper/magazine/books"---yeah, that strategy has worked as well as it sounds). Anyway, bfp's spirit infused the page with new life; the words themselves rose up off the page and sailed into my thoughts for hours after a post. That's what writing is supposed to do, dammit!!


• she repped the midwest. Flyover country was home to her, as it is home to me. She listed local events happening in her neck of the woods, wrote about people and places that don't get near enough mention.


• poetry, music, art----lots of references! Great place to find new things to read, hear, and see. The arts that keep you going---the stuff of life.

And you know what? Those are exactly the same qualities I wanted to bring out here--- just haven't been doing it. Lesser-known stories, labor news and views, the midwest-still-exists, passing along reading, listening, and visual art recommendations, and wrapping it all in the wherefores and the whys of who I am and how I write---that's what I'm planning on bringing to this potluck. "The night belongs to the wolf." Look for new posts in the wee hours, after the cub is in bed. I'll be writing a lot about labor, exposing my miniscule readership to the pleasure of italian-american women authors through the "Umana Cosa" series I started and had two whole posts on (ADD, anyone?), and really pushing folks to support alternative/progressive media. If you have any spare change at all, use it to subscribe to just one good source (it won't killya). I'll be offering plenty of suggestions! Gonna rise up blogging....

Also....I'm mourning the loss of The Redstar Perspective. Great source for Katrina information, and while she may not dig writing a mix of analysis and journaling, I sure the hell loved reading it. Go check out her site and shoot her an email if you want to know where she'll be posting after her dissertation is done.

Off to the races.....