on blogging

On Blogging, A Few Thoughts on My 4th Blogiversary

As I scroll through past blogposts, I can’t believe I’ve reached this landmark—four years of blogging, another “blogiversary.” Occasionally, I have cause to read over an old post and I think, I wrote that? In such a short time it’s amazing how something which took such effort can so quickly turn into a memory. So, on this blogiversary, I would like to briefly reflect on blogging and its merits. 

PAUL THEROUX ON BLOGGING

The inspiration for this post came from a famous travel writer. It’s hard not to read the work of the successful. One has to keep abreast of those at the top of the field, after all. We must “follow” the “influencers.” Or so they say.

I recently came upon a 2011 article in the online version of the Atlantic magazine entitled “Paul Theroux on Blogging, Travel Writing, and Three Cups of Tea.” The interview-style article was a promotion of Theroux’s latest work. The journalist points out the fact that the book is full of lengthy quotes and says, “…this aggregated aspect of your book makes it feel a little blog-like. Would you agree with that comparison?” To which Theroux responds:

You could say blog-like, but I think “blog-like” is a disparaging term. I loathe blogs when I look at them. Blogs look to me illiterate, they look hasty, like someone babbling. To me writing is a considered act. It’s something which is a great labor of thought and consideration. A blog doesn’t seem to have any literary merit at all. It’s a chatty account of things that have happened to that particular person.

REALLY, MR. THEROUX?

Some day I hope to reach your level of repute, to have the Atlantic and other such lofty publications tripping over themselves to catch each pearl as it drops, however broken the string may be.

I had actually found the article through a brief reference to Carlo Levi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli. I was working on my book about Basilicata and was curious that Theroux consistently mentioned Levi’s work when asked about his favorite travel books. What if Levi had issued his insights of life in Southern Italy in another format? The book was first published by Einaudi in Italian in 1945; however, had the same thoughts been scribbled on a pile of cocktail napkins, their merits would have been no less.

Levi’s book feels especially honest to me, too, Mr. Theroux.

KEEP ON BLOGGING

Perhaps some things have changed since 2011. Website and blogging templates have certainly come a long way, for which I am personally grateful. However, I don’t think there’s anyone out there, no matter how slipshod, anticipating the design of a post to elicit the word “loathe” on first impact.

Do my posts “look illiterate”? Being someone who has worn glasses my entire life, I don’t know that I’m the best equipped to tackle this one. Teachers have always put me at the head of the class.

Hasty? I can assure you that at times I have difficulty keeping up my blog for just this reason. Good blogging is anything but hasty, very far from babbling, and a “great labor of thought and consideration.”

Literary merit? I’ll let my actual readers be the judge.

Last year I celebrated milestones and adventures in the post My Italy Blogiversary: 3 Years Blogging with New Experiences and Emotions in Southern Italy; the year before I focused on what makes something bloggable and special people who enhance travel in My Italy Blog: Has it Been 2 Years Already?

Browse around my blog — use the search for a specific topic.

Calabria bookAnd for an in-depth look at this alluring land in the toe of the boot, check out Calabria: The Other Italy, my non-fiction book about daily life, history, culture, art, food and society in this fascinating southern Italian region. It’s widely available in paperback and e-book versions.

“Like” Calabria: The Other Italy’s Facebook page and follow me on Karen’s Instagram and Karen’s Twitter for more pictures and information.

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CALABRIA: THE OTHER ITALY makes a great gift!

Comments 20

  1. Congratulations on 4 years. I very much enjoy reading your babbling, ill considered chat! 🙂 I am currently undertaking a creative writing course and the participants are a mix of the academic, the frustrated corporate marketers, the uni students, the middle aged women seeking a creative outlet and I think we all view each other as more valid somehow than ourselves. The teacher has not much regard for chicklit or romance, being an intellectual. And then of course, the bloggers, are we even writers?
    I think perhaps all we need to be able to do to be valid and wonderful, in the words of Margaret Atwood, is to hold the readers attention. 🙂

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  2. Auguri Karen! 🎉🎉🎉 A bloghiversario is a big deal and so is blogging. I really enjoy reading your blog and I enjoy writing mine. What a baccalà Paul Theroux is for writing something so pretentious! I won’t be running to read his new work. A virtual salute a te 🥂. Ciao, Cristina

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      Grazie mille, Cristina, and back at ya’! I think I first learned that there was a word for blogging anniversary from you – and in both English and Italian, of course!

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  5. Buon quarto anniversario, Karen !! Hopefully that was grammatically correct, BUT, whatever …. ……….. the wish is very sincere !!! 😄👍💕

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  6. Happy anniversary and many more blogging years to you fellow Italophilie!! 🙂 I absolutely adore your journey from Calabria to the States to Japan and Switzerland these days 😉😉 you are doing it so well and like Atwood mentioned- holding the readers attention is important !! Xx

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      Thanks for following me on all my pages, where I’ve included some of my travels beyond Italy. See you in the blogosphere, Ishita!

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  8. Congratulations on your blogging anniversary! Strange how quickly these come up aren’t they? They say everyone’s a critic, it so happens that those who are famous are listened to more often. I, for one, am extremely happy to have discovered fascinating blogs such as yours which transport me to another world and teach me so much about history.

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      Thank you for your kind words. These blogiversaries do seem to come around quicker than Christmas, which means I need to start writing my next post.

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