
This week for our Blogger Spotlight Series we spoke to Clarence Barbee, blogging veteran and poet. To learn more about Clarence and his work at his blog, Doodle With my Poodle or on Twitter.
Q: It is our tradition with this series to ask our guests about their journey. How’d you get here?
A: The journey has been indirectly direct with its share of twist and turns. Beginning with honoring thy mother & father, getting a degree, while 20 years later, allowing it to become a dust catcher. To following dreams, being a spoken word artist; dominating stages, but never winning a slam, to missing the boat for Def Poetry, to recording multiple albums, to still writing poetry and inspiring others to “do them/be them”. To going slightly cray after mother & father pass, losing the house that was willed, to leaving the home city, becoming homeless, and creating stability from unstable teens. To self-publishing one book, having a second published via boutique pub company, to keep a blog going for about 5 1/2 years. A journey that is indirectly direct with its share of twist & turns.
Q: Where are you putting your current focus? What are some of your current projects?
A: Editing poetry, thinking of creating a new blog for short stories, connecting with people on twitter, taking care of babies, working two jobs, balancing a drinking habit, which hopefully won’t turn into a problem, and hoping you will not judge me too harshly for this run on sentence.
Q: How has blogging had an effect on your life?
A: It is the constant. It is that which keeps going; I think everyone has to have some proof of something that keeps going in their world. More than your blunders or your accolades, you need to have that raw truth, that thing that speaks of your life without being your life, or paralleling your existence.
Q: What are your day to day goals?
A: One goal is to keep it going. Having it be a reminder and a possible catalyst to do another with other writers, poets, storytellers. Why. Because it becomes lonely. And writers can be introverts and shy, but are like really dope people with jokes, and smiles, and have really great stories. These stories will always need an outlet, someone who believes in them, and gets people to read them. So yeah, the new goal is a new blog for any kind of writer with a story, or a poem….and to keep that creative Cadillac rollin’.
Q: Okay, what is your ultimate goal?
A: The ultimate goal is to keep responding to life. Keep having that outlet for truth, at least my truth. All my post are not for everyone, and that’s ok. I would like to keep a dialog open…hell, I’d like to actually start a dialog (lol).
Q: What is your advice to people thinking about starting a blog
A: Do it. Try it. Write three posts, promote them, wait, promote again, then wait. Wait three months, leave them alone, then come back and see what you wrote. See if anyone responds. If you think they’re trash, then do another post about how they’re trash. We get better. It’s time, it’s love, it’s writing, it’s the process. When you give up on the process, you give up on writing. And the only time you should do that is when death comes to pry that got-damn pen from your cold dead hand!
And there you have it. Thank you to Clarence to for taking the time to answer our questions and happy Valentines day to all of our readers.
1 Comment
Cresent Moon Cafe · March 1, 2019 at 8:46 pm
It’s hard to come by knowledgeable people on this topic, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks