Blog Post 1

So far for my Archive website, I’ve changed the title, theme, and features to better match my project’s purpose. Instead of focusing on the entire scope of queer poetry, I’ve decided to focus on contemporary poetry in specific. While I’d love to discuss the building blocks of queer poetry courtesy of Wilde and Whitman and the like, I believe it’s just as important to focus on less known modern authors, such as Eileen Myles, Richard Blanco, and Andrea Gibson that have molded and adapted to a our new age of LGBT culture.

The layout was more difficult to settle on, but I finally found a template I like. Putting the title, information, and widgets in the side bar makes everything concise and in one easy place. It also lets the blog posts look center stage. Plus, by choosing a color scheme that’s soft on the eyes, I think it’s easier to read lines upon lines of poetry and discussion. The last thing I changed was the header. I was going to change the image to a typewriter if I chose Victorian writing and a laptop if I chose Contemporary writing, but I settled on a free access image that shows basic writing that transcends age and sexuality (https://pixabay.com/en/writing-write-person-paperwork-828911/).

For my features, I decided to add the search bar, archive, and category widgets. The search bar can help find specific keywords; the archive can help organize the blog chronologically; and the categories can help organize the blog by specific ideas. If I’m able to organize poets not only by dates, but also by a specific time period, topic, or sexuality, it could be easier for others to find poets that interest them most. For example, poetry from 1950 may have different cohort implications than poetry from 2010, and poetry discussing bisexuality may be different that poetry discussing transgender issues. By using categories, I hope to show a wide range of topics discussed in the archive that are more easily accessible.

 

2 thoughts on “Blog Post 1

  1. cph136 says:

    The site is looking great! Your explanations of your choices are sound, and I really like the title. It reminds me of the Walt Whitman poem “A Glimpse” (http://www.whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1881/poems/72), one of my favorite from the homoerotic Calamus cluster. So even if you’ve limited your focus to contemporary poetry, you still have an homage to Whitman there!

  2. rip5062 says:

    Hello!

    I find the world of LGBTQ writing fascinating and I think poetry is an integral part of the legacy of queer literature. Though it would be nice to see a timeline of queer poets, I think that focusing on contemporary queer poets is extremely smart to do and it creates an instant connection to their work for the reader. I am excited to see how your archives unfolds and who you decide to archive–there are many talented contemporary queer poets to choose from and can see that you already have a few in mind. Andrea Gibson is one of my favorite spoken word artists! I suggest looking at queer poets of color to bring a more diverse grouping within your archive, like the queer spoken word duo DarkMatter, and the like; keep an eye out for gender nonconforming poets as well.

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