Wednesday, August 01, 2007

pleasure and pain

The one-year anniversary of my first blog post came and went a couple of days ago, unblogged. That anniversary doesn't really feel like the anniversary of my blog though, because my first several posts were things I'd already written, and I posted them before I'd ever read a blog or really understood what a blog was. It was more than a month before I got any readers and started to get a sense of what blogging was all about.

It didn't take me long to discover with some dismay that there are A LOT of really fantastic writers out here. I'd always thought I was a delicate, unique snowflake. Which brings me to the topic of today's post: one of the many brilliant writers I have had the pleasure (and pain) of discovering over the past year - Beck.


Original Perfect Post Awards – July 2007

It's perfect post time, and I had some great options this month. It was a tough call, but I nominate Beck's post, "Blood," for a perfect post award. I actually had a hard time deciding between that post and its follow-up because both generated a very high proportion of sharp intakes of breath in me at the beauty of Beck's language.

I can't even begin to paraphrase or deconstruct these posts; all I would end up doing is listing the brilliant turns of phrase that made me gasp... why don't you just go read both posts, if you haven't already.

Well, ok, just one quote, from the follow-up post:

"... worrying is my ancestral love language, the way that generations of women in my family have shown that they loved, love that manifests itself as warm sweaters and thermoses of soup and lectures..."

See? Beck really IS a delicate, unique snowflake, and she has the soul of a poet. She may not self-identify as a writer, but she sure as heck writes like one. And though she says that having children has derailed whatever creative process she might possess, I'm not buying it. The way she writes about motherhood is magic.

Check out more perfect posts at Suburban Turmoil and Petroville.

15 comments:

S said...

She is a wonder, that Beck. Good call.

(And Happy Blogiversary to you, whether you want acknowledgment of it or not... I for one am glad you're writing. As just one example, your letters to Swee'pea are absolutely beautiful.)

Unknown said...

happy blog birthday to you - belatedly- I love coming read here - and to see your lovely pictures,which always move me.

Mimi said...

Hooray for Beck, and hooray for your blogiversary. Well done, all 'round.

Beck said...

Good grief, thank you! Now I'm blubbering.
And I'm SO glad that you blog. Happy 100th post.

N. said...

Ah. Crap. I forgot to do my post.

N. said...

Oh, that was rude.
Congrats to Beck. Congrats to you Cin. One year! Your paper anniversary. Which is amusing since this is a paperless medium.

flutter said...

I lurk here a lot, but I am glad you write.

just thought you should know.

Kyla said...

We all love our Beck-a-Roo. EXCELLENT choice. Excellent.

Happy anniversary! Crap...I know mine is at the beginning of August some time, I need to look it up. *lol*

NotSoSage said...

Beautiful choice. She is a wonder, that Beck. As are you.

And happy belated blogiversary.

karengreeners said...

Good call. Happy blog anniversary!

Mad said...

Yup, that girl is a WRITER plain and simple.

Happy Blogiversary to you.

Girlplustwo said...

i really loved her post. good call on that one.

and happy blogiday to you, sister.

Christine said...

isn't beck the absolute end all be all. i am dead serious here. she is my writng idol. and her words always make my breathe catch.

happy 100th!

Anonymous said...

Oi, achei teu blog pelo google tá bem interessante gostei desse post. Quando der dá uma passada pelo meu blog, é sobre camisetas personalizadas, mostra passo a passo como criar uma camiseta personalizada bem maneira.(If you speak English can see the version in English of the Camiseta Personalizada. Thanks for the attention, bye). Até mais.

Aliki2006 said...

Happy blogiversary, my friend!