Exhibitionism and mental masturbation? Nonsense. Blogging is about hiding. It’s about partial truths and a voice that is binding as well as freeing.
When my partner tells me he’s unsure about our relationship I write about protesters rallying for peace. When I don’t know whether we’re partners or not I write that I’m tired. When he leaves me I write about civilian casualties and how untrustworthy and partial reports of a war can be.
The only way I can blog that he left me is obliquely. I demote his name on my blogroll, link less frequently and wonder whether anyone notices. Today I mask my grief and anger with this academic reflection over a genre. I want to tell the world but this hurt exceeds the genre and voice I’ve created here.
raymon
take care
Robert
Hope you’re okay…
jon
what keeps me coming back to your blog on a daily basis is the strength of the voice that comes thru in your writing, embodying enthusiasm and acerbic wit.
showing another side of your voice makes compelling reading, and is the kind of thing that is often hard to push writers to explore, even Creative Writing students.
but the personal aspect of what you wrote today touched me. for the first time i read something on your blog that reminded me that there is a person beneath this – a jill.
when you write, the ether whirls. Thru your words I make connections and links. Find possibilities.
I hope you find strength.
chris
I did notice but at the time didn’t know why. Hope you are okay. You are right – blogging is about creating something else than yourself.
Tinka
How we hide behind words. And I have been there too. I cannot offer anything but words – and so I should really keep silent. But take care.
christian
Klem fra Christian…. Unn deg noe fint i pĆsken..
HĆvard
Det var sterk lesning!! Voner det gĆr bra med deg. Du gjorde inntrykk pĆ oss pĆ ifi dĆ du presenterte blogging og du gjer det igjen.
“Don`t panic”
HĆvard
Rich
I’m sorry to hear. . .hope you’re okay.
Elin
Who said men are not supportive:-)
It is interesting to see that so far, 7 out of 9 who commented are men!
When one door closes, other doors will open. I guarantee you that something great is lurking round the corner:-)
superKlem,
E.
David (TEFL Smiler)
Sorry to hear about it, Jill. You’ll now be on that roller-coaster that only time will sort out. (And time WILL sort it out, of course, as hard as that seems to believe at the time.)
So right now probably isn’t the most convenient time to have to make a decision such as: do you split your blog in two, one more personal and the other more professional? Or do you combine both elements within one single blog, but with a stronger personal aspect if that’s what you need right now?
It’s a hard call, especially as any kind of decision-making becomes impossible when someone leaves you (I think it’s a depression thing), so I wish you the best of luck with it, whatever you decide. A straw poll, perhaps?
Nostradamus
We can be amazingly resilient, when we don’t spend too much time reflecting on whether or not we are resilient. I’m extremely pessimistic about the world; but I have no doubts people do have the capacity to roll through most problems. Best wishes.
meredith
Oh Jill-
I’m so sorry to hear that. Hope you’re doing ok.
Thinking of you. Think it was good, and brave, to put it on your blog.
boynton
I’ve been thinking about this lately myself.(obliquely) Alas,the confessional is just not my genre. Reminds me of the Micahel Ondaatje poem: “Translations of My Postcards”…
“when I speak of the weather
I mean business
A blank postcard says
I am in the wilderness”
Best wishes
Jill
Oblique confessionals, then, Boynton? And when you don’t blog, does that mean that you are in the wilderness? Or just busy? š
Thank you everyone.
Esther
So many words to say and none really say what we want to, so just two from me:
Take care,
E xx
Hot Soup Girl
Best wishes and best luck, Jill.
Lisa
You don’t know me, but hugs anyway.
Alan McCallum
Jill,
Sorry to hear about this setback in your life.
To understand I only need to imagine what it would be like if I was separated from or lost the one I love. Easy to understand i think.
I can’t say anything more except that life goes on. Best wishes
Alan
Ed
Very sorry to hear. Best wishes, Jill, on the future. There isn’t any need to defend how you express yourself, or what blogging is. It’s a different thing for different people and it does open up food for thought. The ultimate thing that matters is that we feel comfortable about how we express ourselves.
j
hey jil – i so rarely come by here – and hope that by now you are feeling a little better.
another email coming your way soon… hopefully a visit!
kaa
jill,
not once have i written on my newborn (40-day-old) blog that a very special year long relationship i was in ended a month before i began the blog. i created it with gusto and energy for a class but never once referred to the real reason i was writing. i was/am healing. in my personal print diary i would reflect on my heartache before lying down to cry myself to sleep, but i have never once brought those feelings to the blog. i actually blog to escape the pain sometimes, but slowly that is fading and changing…and my writing energizes me.
your post really touched me…you have created a powerful voice, as i have begun to do now too, but only we really know what that voice is saying on the inside…
ps – my ex is an aussie (saw your southern cross post today) and i fell in love with him and his country…
Mishka
Mishka rules !
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Some engaging strands have spun outward from a recent post of Jill Walker’s in which she wrote Exhibitionism and mental masturbation? Nonsense. Blogging is about hiding. It’s about partial truths and a voice that is binding as well as freeing. When my …
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