I have fond and warm memories of starting this blog, The Life Literary. I had never before experienced the pure joy and excitement that comes from creatively writing. I experienced something I called the Idea River which combined a sort of transcendent awareness of the world around me with setting those perceptions and recognitions to paper. For the first time in my life, in a particularly aware and concentrated way, I was a writer writing.
It’s been years since I have written regularly in this blog. I started it because I was in the throes of discovering my love for writing. I was celebrating the joy of enjoying the writing and reading of words. And I was dedicated to the reality that doing literary actions such as writing, memorizing poetry, playing games with words, reading, and more, was important for a person’s mind, body, and spirit.
I remain convinced of these things now more than ever, though I have expanded my recognition beyond simply the literary to the reality that beauty in all its appearances, forms, and locations, is also essential for mind, body, and spirit.
A New Writing Venue and Venture
I am writing this to mark a clear ending to The Life Literary. As of today, I will be posting what I write in Substack. Here is the link: https://garychilds.substack.com/.
I am calling the new venue: Gary’s Writing. Catchy, huh?
I am collecting and editing things I have written in the past, as well as writing new things now. On Substack I will post both. That venue will be a springboard for publishing articles in periodicals, other online venues, and books.
The older material includes letters (essays) I wrote while living in Mumbai and also in Jerusalem, as well as jottings from travels both domestic and abroad. I’ll also be planting essays, observations, and notes old and new from my years as a gardener, hoping they grow into a lush garden memoir.
I will share rhymes and poetry I have written. Or maybe I should say I’ll be posting poetry both light and heavy (and welterweight, too). This year, 2025, I will be preparing to apply for a MFA degree program in poetry.
I’m grateful to everyone who read what I wrote in the Life Literary. Writing in it almost every day is an experience I will always treasure.
