Bloggers You Might Like

I started this blog back in 2008, and at that time the web log, or blog, was a relatively new thing to many people. This blog has never really centered on a theme or developed a regular publishing schedule to build an audience. It's just been a place for me to practice writing commentary and sharing my thoughts on whatever is on my mind. At one point, early in the game, I had this idea that the blog would become a thing, a business, a brand ... all that stuff. Alas, that has never really come to pass, as I have never really committed the time and energy to it. 

Over the years, however, I have come across a few professional blogs that I regularly come back to or check in with. And the range is broad and rather quirky, but as far as blogs go, these writers generate a steady stream of interesting information and commentary in the vein of the newspaper or magazine feature.

Austin Kleon is a "writer who draws" or perhaps "an artist who writes." He became a well-known and best-selling writer years ago with his breakthrough work Steal Like an Artist. His website is much more than just a blog -- it's a fabulous resource for creative inspiration. His first book originated out of a speaking engagement, and it's kind of a cool story:

In 2011, I was a 27-year-old copywriter. My first book, Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poems made by blacking out newspaper articles with a marker, had been published the year before. Like many a poet before me, I kept my day job. W.H. Auden once said, “It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.” This wasn’t a sad fact for me: I was very happy to talk to anyone who would listen, and I was even happier if they threw a little scratch my way.

I had recently accepted an invitation to give a talk at Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York. The college asked if I had a title for the talk. I told them it was called “How To Steal Like An Artist.” On one of our morning walks, I asked my wife Meghan what I should say. She said the best talk she ever heard was when an author named Mary Doria Russell visited her high school and simply listed 10 things she wished she’d known when she was a student.

“That’s perfect,” I said, “I’ll steal that.”

Another unique online writer with a great story is Maria Popova whose site "The Marginalian" is a treasure trove of links and commentary on the great artists, writers, artworks, and literary pieces across the ages.