On Your Mind: An Introduction

I’m starting a new project in this space called On Your Mind.

Eventually, I’m hoping On Your Mind will become a weekly feature.

Tentatively, this is wide open in that I hope poets/writers//thinkers/artists/humans will feel empowered to speak about what has been on their mind in recent times. I say "recent' so this can be taken a bit broadly.

This aims to be a space for participants to talk about anything they feel is important to speak about, whether that means their personal art, events in their personal life, and/or issues that face society at large.

Because we live in the society we live in, there are risks to sharing your real thoughts and opinions. I hope that readers appreciate and value these risks instead of searching for reasons to find conflict and quarrel with those who have different views or approach the world in a way that feels other.

In my initial correspondence with poets/writers/thinkers/artists/humans about this new project, a number of folks expressed concern about sharing a window into their personal lives and viewpoints. In one response, I wrote, “I realize there are a bunch of potential pitfalls.” And, “I wouldn't encourage writers to use this as an opportunity to overshare about their personal life because, well, there's a lot of blowback that can happen in the world we live in. Getting canceled is no joke as we know.”

I’ve been asked a lot of wise questions in response to this request for creative types to share their thoughts and reflections. Questions ranging from “my goal” to ideal “tone”.  As Chuck Klosterman has written, “I don’t have any answers, only questions.”

I’m hoping we’ll hear from some of these voices on a quarterly basis. But that remains to be seen.

The first publication for On Your Mind will be out tomorrow, August 23, and I look forward to hearing from readers.