HOST INTRO POST: ELISABETH HEWER
Sep. 9th, 2013 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elisabethhewer posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
poetreeHello, everyone! My name's Ellie and I'm incredibly flattered to have been asked to host this week on POETREE by jjhunter , who found me on tumblr some time ago. I'm afraid I'm new to the community and the way things work around here, but I'm really excited to get to know you and to have the opportunity to discuss poetry more in-depth.
A brief bit of background about myself: I'm twenty years old and highly amateur when it comes to poetry. I honestly have no rhyme or reason to the way I write, and it's still a mystery to me that anybody is interested in reading my poems at all. I'd very much like to take a course to learn more about all the different ways one can format a poem, but as I'm still unsure with most of them, my poetry is all just freestyle at the moment.
I write about what I used to think was a varied number of subjects, but in fact there are some pretty basic themes that I just attempt to tackle over and over again: my relationship with God and Christianity, love, and feminism (in historic as well as contemporary settings). Poetry is sort of my way of attempting to organise my thoughts into something coherent, as otherwise they fly around my head in a very jumbled manner. I'd like to share an example of each of these themes with you over the course of the week and find out if I've managed to convey any hint of my stance towards them all!
You can find my poems on my tumblr page for now - I'm hoping to summon up the courage to submit some to a few journals in the future!
Thank you very much for reading this, and if it's alright with you I'd love to start off by asking a little bit about you all - the sort of thing you prefer to read and/or write poetry about; and also (if you are willing to share) your stance towards the religion you were raised in if you were at all. This is a subject of intense fascination to me and one that colours a lot of my own thinking and writing.
jjhunter , who found me on tumblr some time ago. I'm afraid I'm new to the community and the way things work around here, but I'm really excited to get to know you and to have the opportunity to discuss poetry more in-depth.A brief bit of background about myself: I'm twenty years old and highly amateur when it comes to poetry. I honestly have no rhyme or reason to the way I write, and it's still a mystery to me that anybody is interested in reading my poems at all. I'd very much like to take a course to learn more about all the different ways one can format a poem, but as I'm still unsure with most of them, my poetry is all just freestyle at the moment.
I write about what I used to think was a varied number of subjects, but in fact there are some pretty basic themes that I just attempt to tackle over and over again: my relationship with God and Christianity, love, and feminism (in historic as well as contemporary settings). Poetry is sort of my way of attempting to organise my thoughts into something coherent, as otherwise they fly around my head in a very jumbled manner. I'd like to share an example of each of these themes with you over the course of the week and find out if I've managed to convey any hint of my stance towards them all!
You can find my poems on my tumblr page for now - I'm hoping to summon up the courage to submit some to a few journals in the future!
Thank you very much for reading this, and if it's alright with you I'd love to start off by asking a little bit about you all - the sort of thing you prefer to read and/or write poetry about; and also (if you are willing to share) your stance towards the religion you were raised in if you were at all. This is a subject of intense fascination to me and one that colours a lot of my own thinking and writing.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-11 04:16 pm (UTC)First of all, that poem is absolutely wonderful! It captures a lot of the things I feel towards Christianity/Catholicism too, so thank you very much for sharing it with me.
To be honest all types of relationships with any religion are of interest to me! I'm afraid I've never heard of Unitarian Universalism, but I shall go read about it and hopefully be able to hold a better conversation with you about it soon!
I do indeed - although I definitely make no claims to knowing anything about science. The last time I had anything to do with proper learning about it was when I was fifteen! Parts of it just seem so beautiful to me. I'm really glad you like that one, I was nervous about it so that means a lot!
no subject
Date: 2013-09-12 04:29 pm (UTC)The key things about Unitarian Universalism, for me, are the Seven Principles:
* The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
There's also (say I as though these things are distinct) a strong commitment to social justice among UUs. My atheism demands social justice--I want the world fixed, no god is going to fix the world for me, therefore I must do it for myself; it's too big for me, but that's why there are other people. Unitarian-Universalist-ness demands much the same thing. The First Principle requires me to call people on their shit when they're treating people as unworthy of basic human respect. The Second Principle requires me to behave fairly and to do my best to ensure that the institutions of which I am part behave fairly. Etc.