I have been picked out. Not in the manner of a teacher where I am made to stand in front of the class and climb the rope, but rather in a good way which does not involve rope burns and the absence of rope burns is always a good thing. An award from an esteemed blog friend is an even better thing. Randall over at 'Musings from the Hinterland' has bestowed upon me the 'A Roar for Powerful words' award and I am deeply honoured, especially coming from someone so eloquent. In his own words: "Last year, Bob-Kat posted a moving series of posts about dealing with the death of her niece. They were very personal, but powerful entries, and I thank her for sharing them."
This award was originated at 'The Shameless Lions Writing Circle', where 'A Roar For Powerful Words' was started as "a chance to scream from the mountains the good news about the powerful posts that are produced every day in the blogosphere, despite what some mainstream columnists and journalists claim. It is also a good chance to examine exactly what it is that makes writing good and powerful."
Apparently, this award is distributed to those people "who have blogs we love, can't live without, where we think the writing is good and powerful." Now, I'll be honest, that kind of scares the pants off me. If anyone out there can't live without my blog then I offer my sincere apologies and hope that you get some help really soon... On a more serious note, If you like what I write then I thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
So, now I need to publish the award here, name five people I would like to give it to and list three things I believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful. The recipients then do the same, passing it on to five other people, and so on.
So, for me 'good and powerful' writing has the following attributes:
1. Meaning. I'm not necessarily talking about the ultimate answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, but that the words need to say something. It can be the most small everyday thing but if it says something then it can have impact.
2. Heart. I think sometimes the most powerful things we read come from the heart. They are written without contrivance and connect with us the way logic cannot. They have resonance for us because the words are honest and are written without art or guile.
3. Passion. This can be the passion that comes with enthusiasm for a topic which can be infectious or from that that accompanies a belief in something, which can make you think.
So now I am meant to award this to five others. That is a toughie as I know for certain that I want to give this to many more people than that. It helps me that I know already that Randall of 'Musings from the Hinterland', Susan from 'West of Mars' and Kenju from 'Imagine what I am leaving out' have already received this award (very fitting indeed). So here are my choices:
1. Smiler of 'From Smiler with Love'. Smiler is a fairly recent addition to my blog roll and a prolific blogger. Her posts are varied and include haiku that have great insight and, yes, she writes straight from the heart.
2. Shephard of 'Shephard's Alley' whose words of wisdom come from a soul who has seen and done much, and shares his experience and thoughts through his blog. In particular, his series on 'gratitude' and his medicine cards gave the soul much to feed on and the mind much to cogitate on.
3. Mr Althouse from the 'The 25 Year Plan'. His posts have great depth of understanding from someone who has pretty much been there and done that. He writes with a great human quality and it has been an honour to share his experiences as he graduates and builds a new career for himself.
4. Bud of 'Paradise is Pinehurst'. I have only recently started to visit Bud but his recent posts sharing his experiences on alcoholism are worth reading.
5. Carmi of 'Written Inc.' I suspect that Carmi may already have received this award, indeed I would be surprised if he hadn't. Carmi's blog shows life as he sees it through his lens. His great photos are always accompanied by his thoughts which make you pause for awhile.
5a. Because I can't count I would like to award this to CrazieQueen as well. Her blog is a mixed bag, a bit like mine but amongst the fun posts you will find a woman who at times, isn't so crazy and has something to say.
Honourable mention also goes to Naomi of 'Here in the Hills' who I would have awarded this to but I know she has her own views about receiving awards which I respect. Her blog is a wonderful trip into her garden, her home, and her life which is rich beyond words.
Apologies to anyone I have missed off this list. I felt that I might be pushing my luck with 5b, 5c etc... It was extremely difficult to make this choice and I love visiting all my blog friends. In different ways, all your writing is powerful as it is all from you. Meanwhile, I humbly sign off for now. Thank you. Randall. I am honoured. Now I will leave you with one last roar!
25 comments:
Awesome choices, and congrats to you.
Don't feel that you're pushing anything. I only passed my award on to one person. You're picking up my slack!
Wow that's a pretty cool award. Congratz!
Here via Michele.
Bobcat I am very honored and will certainly follow up when my series on alcoholism is completed. Thank you so much.
Congrats BK it is well deserved. Obviously I am not the only one who finds your blog addictive and pleasant to visit.
Oh and thanks for the roar! LOL!
First, congratulations on receiving this award, you most definitely deserve it.
Second, you made me burst out laughing with you "the absence of rope burns is always a good thing" comment, and I would have to completely agree with you on that point. :-D
Thirdly thank you so very much. I'm deeply honored that you should think of me for this award, especially knowing how well surrounded you are with many bloggers of talent. I'll be glad to pass it on to deserving recipients.
Thank you so much, I am honored that one whose writing I respect and admire so much would choose me to receive this award. Although I do not know all of your other choices, I do frequent the blogs of some and I must say that I am in good company.
I'll be passing this award on in the next few days... I'll let you know when.
Mike
Congrats on the award BK. You deserve it. In so many ways.
And yes, I would love to meet (another) Brit blogger. We should try and organise something...I'll email you once our itinery is all sorted and booked and paid for!
If I recall correctly, Naomi was given this award a week or so ago. She seemed quite happy about it--but I can see why you'd not want to bother her with it. She's got plenty to blog about already. Her blog is a never ending wonderland of personal info and insider accounts of showbiz.
And so you should get this - Randall is quite right. Your writing and your pictures are very powerful.
I would have been surprised if I had been one of the first choices - powerful is not a byword of mine, as you know - I'm a bit more purple and fluffy than some :-)
But I am very touched that I am sharing a spot with our mutual blogfriend Carmi - no better company IMO :-))
I hope you're feeling better today, sweetie - don't let youknowwho grind you down!
cq
cq
You're quite welcome. We look forward to more.
Cheers.
Utenzi - Naomi is always flattered to receive an award but I know that she has her own views on accepting them and passing them on and I totally respect that.
CQ - the awardees were in no particular order. Just becasue you are purple and fluffy doesn't mean you can't roar on occasion! :)
yay for the shameless lions.
I answered your question by the way.
hehehe - you know, Michele is a mind reader.....I was going to come here after checking in with the M&G.....
I agree, he is a very handsome purple lion, isn't he? I'll have to have a think about which worthy soul on my blogroll is deserving of a Powerful Roar award......
...and I knew the winners were in no particular order... :-)
I am still happy to be 5a, sitting next to my sweet Carmi!
cq
Wow congratulations!
Michele sent me over to say that & to reflect that as a non-written blog, awards are probably not in my future- That's ok though, the point is more to spread cheer & laughter for me.
Good on ya and congratulations! Purrrr-fect.
Hiya BK....I posted an update with pics chronicling the Great Blizzard of 2008 :)
i must confess, I am here for the cat pictures
and because michele sent me
Congratulations, Bob-kat! It is well-deserved and an honor to be in your company. Thanks for the link, too. I know all your nominees and read them often. Very good choices!
Congratulations Bob-Kat. You deserve it.
Thank You dear Bob-Kat for the Honorble Mention...I dearly appreciate it and I dearly appreciate your understanding about the Award thingy...! You chose some wonderful Bloggers, ALL of whom I couldn't agree more!
And a Great Great Congratulations, my dear....You are deeply deserving of this fine honor!
Hope you are having a good weekend...I have been watching movies when not on the phone...!
Michele sent me back today, Bob-kat. I hope you're well.
Congratulations! I also love your blog with your beautiful pictures and words.
I feel so undeserving of this. I am incredibly touched by your gesture...just the company alone is enough to make me blush.
All I do is write and share what I see and feel. I'm so thrilled that it's allowed me to connect in ways I could not have envisioned when I first started my blog almost 4 years ago.
How blessed I am to have cross paths with like-minded souls like you.
I got this once but forgot to post about it. Sometimes these things are like a wave that I miss. I like your list of what it takes to be a good writer...and your choices for who to award the lion's roar to. Michele was here.
Thank you so much, Bobkat. Very sweet of you. A writer hopes that some words of the thousands he writes have some power, some value, some ability to inspire or comfort or brighten someone's day once in a while. So I'm grateful for your kind words. :)
And you chose a very nice selection of blogs to highlight, all of them deserving.
Hope your day is cheery and warm.
~S :)
Post a Comment