Blogs in Their Summer Clothes - 1

I link to a number of writers' and artists' blogs. You can find those links nestled down in the left-hand column of this page, under the Blog Archive, but I thought it was time I gave some of them a bit more prominence. So here's five presented, as they say in Hollywood, "For Your Consideration".

In a subsequent post, I'll look at some more blogs, and at a discontinued New Zealand literary site that still speaks, from time to time, from a little to the east and somewhere beyond the veil.

When I started work on "Books in the Trees", there were two existing blogs I turned to as role models: Harvey Molloy's Notebook and Helen Rickerby's Winged Ink.

Harvey and I have a number of things in common: we're both poets, we both hail from the north of England, and we both write science fiction poetry. Not surprisingly, we're friends! Harvey's blog, with its mixture of news, writing and reviews, continues to be an inspiration.

Helen Rickerby, also a friend, is a poet, publisher, and encyclopedist. One of the things she publishes is JAAM, the Wellington literary magazine of which I'm editing Issue 26. Helen also runs Seraph Press, which publishes a (so far) small range of exceptionally handsome books.

Helen also plays a valuable role in encouraging her associate, the mysterious Giant Sparrow, to grace the blogosphere more frequently. Giant Sparrow is a deep thinker and fine writer with an enduring faith in the existence of places where anything is possible, such as the theatre.

Finally in this instalment, two bloggers whose blogging forte is a synthesis of words and images. I have known Meliors Simms for a long time, even though we go for many years without seeing each other. She combines visual art and poetry in her arresting and beautiful handmade books, and her Bibliophilia blog showcases the combination.

On the other hand, I don't believe I've ever met Kay McKenzie Cooke, but we both have strong connections with Southland, Dunedin, and their wildlife and landscapes. She's a fine poet, photographer and excellent blogger with an an output — and range of blogs - that puts mine to shame. Her as it happens blog is a good place to start.

So there's a few blogs I like. But there's more! Check them out at the left of this page, or look out for my next post about the blogs I link to. They may be wearing autumn clothes by then.