writing + writing

it is a slow, lazy summer kinda sunday here at casa de bronson/lopez

i found myself thinking about the late NZ poet rob allan who was quite active on social media

allan's account on twitter [or, sheesh, x] was allanrob9 if you are interested in reading his posts for they are still up & available 

allan's poems were decidedly 'post-modern' you can read a few here https://www.nzepc.auckland.ac.nz/features/dunedin/allan.asp

but i would argue, perhaps allan would disagree, that a portion of his poetics is his social media posts 

his posts were mostly photos taken of Dunedin/Port Chalmers & they were often of the local flora, buildings, the port, boats & ships, rarely people & almost never self-portraits

allan was also a slightly astringent commentator on the goings on of the day & was generous in retweeting his friends works as well

social media is a kind of writing too

we could argue that till the cows come home but nearly every creative person, whether she be a poet, home cook, gardener, painter etc etc. possesses a social media site

nearly all the painters i am interested in use instagram to publish their works

so there is writing done in the traditional ways like pen to paper, books etc etc. + writing done on the electronic frontier that would include email, texting, blogging, instagramming, you name it

& so it is that i miss rob allan & his posts  

he is a man that i wished i had reached out too

i am not the only one who has this wish here is a lovely post by a fellow writer who calls allan a friend even tho they never 'met' [but they did meet like one would meet writers in their works, perhaps even more for social media is indeed now, today, part of the 'social' hum of living in the 21st C] https://petchary.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/in-remembrance-of-a-twitter-friend-i-never-met/

finally, here is another lovely memorial to rob allan by his friend the poet kay mckenzie cooke with a charming detail of her & rob's competiton to see who can post the first photo of a magnolia in blossom on twitter In Memory – 11th Letter In

rob allan's works on social media are a proof that the electronic frontier can also bring us together 

peace & love