Good news: yesterday, I wrote an essay about Arthur C. Clarke for SEED magazine and it was published on their on-line site today. I am so pleased that something I wrote was finally recognized as being worthy of publication "for reals", although, now that I read it today, there are a dozen things that I'd like to fix and change (this is why blog writing is superior to other forms of writing: we are allowed to edit our pieces until they satisfy us).
On the other hand, I wrote that piece in only a few hours -- devoting two hours to an essay that I threw away after I'd finished it, and another two hours to writing the piece that you can see now.
More like this
You all loved it when my Mom wrote two 5-part series of guest-posts.
The other day I wrote about a really nice post someone wrote about a cardiologist with whom I have had a relationship since postdoc years.
Ok, I can't resist. What do people think of Larry Craig's arrest for ostensibly soliciting sex in a men's room? He's denying he did anything wrong.
Jennifer, one of Miss Baker's students, wrote a blog post about Malaria and, for that occasion, she also wrote and composed
Congrats!
Woo-hooo! Congratulations!
And to Seed too.
Have you read My Friend Mr. Leakey by JBS Haldane? We were made to read it at school, without being told who the guy was. Haldane makes a similar comment about how he's a magician (although he never, as far as I know, threatened to turn anyone into a sausage).
Very cool -- and definitely deserved, the essay is great!
thanks everyone for your compliments. i told SEED that i'd read clarke's books as a kid, but i was no expert on clarke, the man, but i could write the essay for them, so i did. the editors were great; encouraging me to follow my instincts and write the piece that you find on that link .. the first attempt was a more traditional sort of essay, but i hated it and ended up trashing it. so i am pleased all around (plus, they are going to pay me for it -- that'll help with this month's rent bill -- thank the great Spaghetti Monster, since i really need the help now more than ever).
no, i haven't read that, bob. is it a book or an essay? it sounds like a really fun read.
Yay for you, Grrl. I have been reading your sparkling blog posts for years and count myself as the president of your fan club in Houston. It's about time you got wider recognition!
Congrats! great essay, very inspiring too. It's astounding how much things change within a single lifetime.
Nice essay.
Congrats, hopefully the first of many.
It's a really heart felt piece. Nice job to say the least.
Wonderful, thank you for that essay.
My own exposure to Clarke seems to similar to your own; I have not been a rabid fan, I've read a few things here and there. That sentence does resonate, and I remember thinking of the most outlandish magical things I could as a child, and then trying to I guess, 'reverse-engineer' how they could happen.
This essay is a wonderful tribute and you should be proud not only of its publication, but also of your own writing.
Congratulations! what about an article in the magazine next? at the very least, you could help curate a section on cool nature images :-)
It's a collection of short stories for children. For me, his most influential work.
Great essay!
I was miffed at some other bloggers' reactions to Clarke's death. Nice to see a generous approach to remembering the man.
I'm late (as usual), but, nice essay!
Another great comment I read was at the end of NASA's press release about the March 19th visible GRB: