Blog A New Voice

Why is blogging so addictive? Why do we feel compelled to write and put ourselves out there almost every day? Because there has never been a forum, other than journaling of course and that's been private territory, that is remotely like blogging. It is, when done honestly and often, a deep journey into ourselves -- who we really are, what we mean to the world around us, and who we want to become. How we react, sense and perceive our reality, and, chiefly, the role our individual histories bring to the table. We test our sensibilities, ask for acceptance (well, sometimes) by soliciting comments from those around us who may or may not share our perspective.

Blogging is a discovery process. Narcissistic, yes, but vital to becoming the person we are really meant to be. The strong, avid bloggers keep at it because they simply love to write, and in doing so some of them are becoming genuine writers, not just neo-journalists and opinionists. It's fascinating to watch this process evolve; the poet, the sentimentalist, the dreamer, the realist, the cynic, the naysayer, the prophet, the teacher, the champion, the truth all begin to emerge in the person who is driven to blog. A voice is sculpted and crafted and turned over to an audience. A life's story begins to emerge.

I had the delight of discovering the beginnings of a couple of deeply original and inspired voices of genuine, contemporary southern culture over the last few days within a couple of key posts. One was from James. The other from Will Hinton. There's something critical and seminal in these two unpolished musings on the past King Day. Linking to such emerging voices is simply at the heart of why I started my own blog in the first place, why my own blog emerged from my history, and why I started the e-zine WaySouth in the nineties too. I know there is a strong, uniquely southern voice out there. And I for one sure don't want to miss a musing.

One note, I've disabled "comment moderation" here too to encourage more comments. Blogging without comments is the equivalent of drinking alone - why bother?

This post put together by Yo La Tengo, Beta Band and Cat Stevens.