OIL & WATER ANTHOLOGY!

Spring is on its way as March beckons on this last day of February–windy and wet with puddles of melted snow! As spring approaches, there is a renewal of focus on the 2010 Gulf oil disaster in media of all kinds. Last year, I contributed to an anthology collection designed to raise money for some groups impacted strongly by the oil disaster. After learning about the anthology on SheWrites.com, I submitted a poem that I wrote entitled Before Petroleum. This contribution was the start of  a venture that resulted in the publication of Oil and Water Other Things That Don’t Mix in December 2010. Thanks to the efforts of editors, unrelated but bearing the same last name, Zetta Brown and Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson Brown, much was accomplished:

• an anthology–a diverse collection of poetry, essays, reflections was published,

  

  Oil & Water Anthology

• a blog website at  http://oilwaterdontmix.blogspot.com/ was established,
• Facebook page opened at Oil and Water – and Other Things That Don’t Mix
• Twitter is included as well in a network of social media venues.

The editors, also, went a step further; they sent out a call to anthology writers to contribute a blog bio post about their individual work(s) to the website. This has been an uplifting experience to read about inspirations and struggles that resulted in a poem or an essay. As a co-contributor, I was inspired to make some bookmark books as I read through the anthology. I have shared some of these items that I made. Today I was honored to see that one of them was included in today’s bio post by Jenne’ Andrews. Here’s the link to “A Bowl of Red”: http://oilwaterdontmix.blogspot.com/2011/02/meet-jenne-andrews-author-of-bowl-of.html

This anthology experience has been a enriching one for me as a writer.

Connecting with so many authors from varied places has been amazing and rewarding! It is great to be part of this book as a fund-raising initiative. Check out the links here for more information!

LIBRARIES–SAVE THEM!

Public libraries–what a treasure!

CARNEGIE LIBRARY IN GRAND VALLEY

 

 

That has always been my opinion about this amazing resource, sitting right in the midst of most communities, just like this public library that I visited so many times as a child. It was destroyed by a tornado in the 80s but was soon replaced by a newer building.

In the past, I have written letters to the editor of our local paper to advocate for more funding for these institutions from the small town libraries to larger city libraries.

Now, I hear that some libraries in various countries are being closed as a cost-saving measure.

This is disturbing news as libraries provide free access to resources–print, electronic, visual, sound–regardless of your income level.

I hope that such decisions will be reversed and that library closures will not become a trend.

Public libraries level the playing field for people. Access to internet resources, community speakers and initiatives are only some of the ways that libraries serve a vital role in our communities.

Let’s make sure that public libraries are here to stay!

Related articles

• Response: Ebooks and their ilk are no replacement for libraries (guardian.co.uk)