Friday, August 16, 2013

The Time Has Come…

Hello, friends! A happy Friday to you all.

The time has come, as the Walrus said, to talk of many things
—well, perhaps not many, but one or two of some importance to this little corner of the internet cosmos. Today is the fifth anniversary of the Robert Frost’s Banjo blog, & I'm here to let you know that the blog will go on indefinite hiatus after this post.

Now please be assured: this blog isn’t going to go anywhere—it will remain online as long as Google in its infinite wisdom keeps Blogger blogs available & free; however, I don't anticipate adding any content either generated by myself or others in the foreseeable future. This is not an impulsive or precipitous decision—I’ve been thinking about it for some time, & it’s become clear to me over the past several months that the blog has simply run its course in terms of the content I can create for it & the engagement I can bring to it.

Of course, the blog never was just me. It’s always been a place for collaboration, & I have nothing but thanks & gratitude for the friends who have contributed to Robert Frost’s Banjo & who have done so much to make it a space people have enjoyed
—on alphabetical order: my old friend Audrey Bilger, who has contributed some of the most popular & widely read pieces; dear Barbie Angell, whose poetry & illustrations absolutely won me over, & who has been such a big part of the blog the past couple of years—Barbie’s poem posts are always popular, & deservedly so; Brittany Newmark, a cherished old friend & remarkably talented poet & fiction writer who’s been generous enough to contribute her writing;  Carmen Leone, who has conscientiously &  generously supplied me with his wonderful poems; Eberle Umbach, who brought the Weiser River Pillow Book, poetry, music, & stories about everything from Jane Austen to the Rock Band game & much more—& who was the source of the blog’s name, which was a stroke of genius in my opinion—the blog certainly never would have been what it has been without Eberle's major contributions, & they are much appreciated; L.E. Leone (or Dani as I know her), a dear friend whose poems have been a mainstay on the Tuesday poet’s corner & who also has contributed music as part of Homegrown Radio; my dear friend Mairi Graham-Shaw, who has such creative energy & for whom I envision such a bright future, has contributed her high energy poetry; & & Nancy Krygowski, who stepped in & contributed poems of first-rate quality. All of these people have been so much fun to work with, & I’m grateful to call them all friends. If I were to include all the many people who contributed to such series as Writer’s Talk, Homegrown Radio & Musical Questions, the list simply would go on & on. But check them out in the blog archives & in the label section! These are the folks that made Robert Frost’s Banjo a special place.



& thank all of you who stop by to read, whether regularly, sporadically, or once in a blue moon. You’ve also been a big part of the blog! I wish you all the best in your endeavors, wherever they may take you, & if we meet in this space again down the road, so much the happier.

So how shall we send the blog off to rest? Well, it is Robert Frost's Banjo! See below.


Happy trails!







Image is of course by John Tenniel—one of his illustrations to Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. It links to its source on Wiki Commons, & is in the public domain.

18 comments:

  1. Sorry to see the blog come to an end, but I understand where you are coming from.

    I've always enjoyed your posts - both the ones you wrote yourself, and those you shared.

    Thanks John!

    Stay in touch,

    Kat

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    1. Hi Kat: Thanks so much for your support & friendship! I will definitely stay in touch : )

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  2. Dear John, I have so enjoyed your blog. Because of you I learned things about music I never knew. I discovered Zoe Keating, Barbie Angell and things about music in my home state of Texas. I wish you well. In my head the song "Happy Trails" is looping. Happy Trails to you too!

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    1. Thanks so much, Joyce! I've very much appreciated your participation in & enthusiasm for Robert Frost's Banjo! All the best to you.

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  3. Congratulations on your achievement, and wishing you many varied and happy trails.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jacqueline! I do hope we stay in touch : )

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  4. I'm very sad to hear this news. I've learned of some fantastic musicians I'd never heard of before here on the blog, and I'll miss things like women in blues and the like. Oh well, at least you're on Facebook and I get news of you there. Happy trails to you as well!

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    1. Thanks, Roy! I really appreciate how strong your support has been. The Women in Blues series is definitely one of the things I'm most proud of on the blog--& yes, you know where to find me online!

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  5. So sorry to see the shutters come down at this particular window, John. I count myself lucky to have been allowed a glimpse of your life and music, and bear witness to the creative energies of others. Take care of yourself, and I hope we can stay in touch via FB. Best wishes, as always!

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    1. Thanks so much, Martin! I do appreciate that very much, & yes, I'll continue to be on Facebook. I don't post a lot there, but I never entirely fall off the map! Best to you & yours.

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  6. Sorry to hear this. I've enjoyed and learned from your musical offerings. Best of luck in whatever is next.

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    1. Thank you, Banjo52! I've appreciated your comments & participation! Best of luck to you as well.

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  7. I'll miss this blog for sure. Thanks for running it for as long as you did John! This blog was how I "met" you virtually then I had the pleasure of meeting you in real life. I'll always treasure this blog as the means with which we connected.

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    1. Thanks so much, Raquel. Getting a chance to meet you in real life was a complete pleasure, & I hope you have a chance to come out to Portland some time! & of course, I wish you the best in everything : )

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  8. Hey Johnny Jack Poetry - I haven't been visiting RFB for a while, but strangely enough tonight I checked it out - and I want to say: that I've always loved RFB being out there in the universe with its unique and alive presence - and I never totally realized how much I loved it until I read your words about stopping this,,,

    - on the other hand,I know that change happens, and in fact, following change is probably the most essential thing any of us can do in our lives, especially as we age and approach that ever-approaching fact of death - so I congratulate you on your courage in accepting change - wherever this will take you next...

    and I also want to thank you for creating the vital being and essence that RFB has been - indescribable - life-giving - embracing - as well as troubled and opaque in its identity (as anything truly real must be, right?) I know that being a part of RFB was delightful and transformational to me while it was happening - and I'm certain that I'm not the only participant who experienced this - so -

    I thank you - and wish you all the best wherever your creative future takes you - softball, cooking dinner, watching the light or the rain in the Portland skies as they touch your heart and your horizon - THANKS for all your work and words - and for the presence you have been in my life -

    AMDG,
    Eberle

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    1. Hi Eberle: I really am glad you had a chance to see the post, & as I said, within the post, you certainly played a very large role in making Robert Frost's Banjo what it was. Since you haven't been following it as much, you may not be aware that I've really not been posting any of my own content for some time, though it has been my pleasure to post poems by Carmen, Mairi & Barbie. But I've known for quite some time that the blog had an expiration date, so to speak, & rather than have it fade away in neglect, I felt it was important to me & to it to have a punctuation point.

      Thanks for all your kind words, & for all you did for this blog--& more importantly, for all the ways in which you have enriched & enhanced my life. It's funny, & perhaps telling: I also look on embracing change as crucial, but not as a preparation for a final demise, but as part of life's fabric. But ultimately, perhaps it all comes to the same thing.

      All my best wishes--
      John

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  9. Thanks for bringing this beautiful blog to the web. It brought me joy and taught me many things. Best of luck to you.

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    1. Thanks, HKatz! I have really, really appreciated all your support & have also enjoyed your blog, which itself should be described as beautiful : )

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