It’s been ten years since I started Veneta’s Notebook. March 2014. I’ve posted 54 times—nothing to shout about when compared with other internet blogs. Still. Why did I start? I’d just updated the Sage Femme Press website to a platform I could manage on my own. I envisioned the notebook as a way to tell my (mythical) readers about my literary activities and events (rare).
Over time a rhythm developed. I began to post every two months. The entries were short, maybe 200-300 words, the trend in most blogs and many periodicals in light of the online public’s short attention span. They began to focus on my journey as a reader and writer. Even when I’m not actively writing poems or essays, I’ve remained remarkably faithful to this one discipline.
In my posts over the years, I’ve referred to the poet William Stafford five times. He and his work never fail to inspire me. In March of 2016 I quoted these lines from his poem, “The Way It Is”:
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
I realize that this notebook illuminates for me the thread I am following. I don’t know where it will lead or whether it will be a straight path (doubtful) or a labyrinth with an intricate structure of interconnecting passages (more likely).
And what have I learned through these ruminations? First, that my creative life is worth reflecting on, for me if for no one else. Second, that just as was the case during the years I wrote regular columns for nursing journals, subjects never fail to present themselves. I marvel at this—over 50 years and inspiration, while sometimes tardy, never fails to arrive.