Friendship Around the World Award (Part I)

Geoffrey Philp linked me in this some time ago, and I’m going to try indulge in it now. 

Friendship Around the World Award

Jack Mandora, whose blog I admire, has passed this award along to me with the mandate of sharing it with friends whom I’ve met through blogging. I will add that they became my friends because of the remarkable content of their blogs.

I have to say my blogging practices have changed lately, and I haven’t done as much reading as I should, but let me start. So here are mine – part I.

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot - Geoffrey Philp

There are lots of Caribbean blogs out there, but not so many that deal with literature. Geoffrey’s one that I read, partly because I know him in person, but also because I like his observations.

Heraclitean Fire – Harry Rutherford

OK, I’m a poet in my spare time, and I read lots and lots of poetry blogs, many of which I visit on a very regular basis. But Harry writes about more than poetry, and his links are always interesting. Unless he’s talking about some sport or another, I find every post of his fascinating, probably because he’s able to synthesize material really well. It’s a skill that I admire and to which I aspire. 

Bahama Pundit – Larry Smith, et al.

The idea behind this blog is to bring Bahamian columnists together in one online spot and give us a platform that reaches beyond the newspaper circulation. I like and admire Larry as a reporter. He does his homework and makes observations that hold up after some scrutiny, and his fellow columnists are also pretty interesting. (I was one of them for a while, and hope to be again, but that’s not the reason I picked this blog!) Maybe it’s a little to localized for most people, but it’s worth a look in my books.

Weblog Bahamas – Rick Lowe et al.

I read Rick’s blog because he and I hold opposite views of the world in just about everything except the potential and the need of human beings to make their own realities. It’s good to see what libertarians, and especially white Bahamian libertarians, are thinking, even if I disagree from the pit of my stomach with 99.999999999% of what they think. But Rick doesn’t only talk about politics and economics. He also reads some pretty interesting stuff, he has eclectic taste in music, he takes some cool photos, and he doesn’t let you go away without having been provoked in some way or another. And some of his co-authors are almost as good.

Signifyin’ Guyana - Charmaine D. Valere’s blog

I read this blog because Charmaine doesn’t just write about Caribbean issues, she also reads and reviews work by Caribbean (primarily Guyanese) writers, and her perspective is an interesting one. She’s part of the diaspora, lives outside the region, but she’s part of the global Caribbean that is going to transform our nations in years to come. Go Charmaine.

Carter’s Little Pill - Julie Carter’s blog

As I said, I read lots of poetry blogs. Julie’s, like Harry’s, isn’t all about poetry, though it could be because her poems are kick-ass. But there’s a lot about Julie in it too, and I like what I see of Julie online. It’s because of her and what she wrote that made me suspect Ohio was going to vote for Obama. Well worth a read.

Savage Minds – Group blog about anthropology

Yes, I’m a poet and a Caribbean woman, but don’t forget I’m an anthropologist as well. There are other anthro blogs out there, but this one strikes closest to me and my particular training — social anthropology with a distinct UK/European bias and a deep admiration and love for (though not always acceptance of) the theories of Claude Levi-Strauss.

I’ll stop there for now, but I’ll be back. There are some people I missed. But you have to excuse me — Obama and the world’s changing are taking up some of my time.

If I’ve called your name, go spread the meme!

Tagged as: blogging, blogs, global friendships