Weirding Word®

SOPA and PIPA = Big Brother Infringement on Our Rights

SOPA and PIPA would effectively make YOU responsible for the content of websites that you link to on your own website or blog. It would also give individuals and private businesses the power the shut down YOUR website.

Copyright and intellectual property protection are important, but these bills go too far and inhibit the free exchange of information that is a cornerstone of our democracy. Contact your congress(wo)man and senators to oppose SOPA and PIPA. Look them up on Sopa Track at http://sopatrack.com/. Then call them and tell them what you think.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a publishing house that promotes engaging books and novels, and provides editorial, design and marketing services.

Copyright 2007-2012 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Take Action to Help Haiti

A friend forwarded this list of organizations.  Whether one of these, your local church or another organization, please take action to help.

Partners in Health (Paul Farmer's organization) - Zanmi Lasante (“Partners In Health” in Haitian Kreyol) is PIH’s flagship project – the oldest, largest, most ambitious, and most replicated. www.pih.org/where/Haiti/Haiti.html

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization. They in 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize. doctorswithoutborders.org/

Ox-Fam is a confederation of 14 like-minded organizations working together, and with partners and allies around the world, to end poverty and injustice -- from campaigning to responding to emergencies. www.oxfam.org/

A.M.E. Church - Since its founding 28 years ago, AME-SADA has demonstrated the implementation of its mission, Helping People Help Themselves, by providing essential assistance to those in need through health, micro-credit and education programs, as wells as emergency humanitarian aid in Africa and Haiti. www.ame-sada.org/

Feel free to list other organizations in the comments here.  And, don't forget to text "Haiti" to 90999 to automatically donate $10 via your cell phone.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2010 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Writing To Congress: Tips for Getting Your Voice Heard

This article by Gaea L. Honeycutt was originally published in Average Girl Magazine

For many people, it’s hard to know the best way to contact a U.S. senator or representative and then feel confident that the message has gotten through. Is anyone listening? Do those e-mails from advocacy groups really count for anything? Are some types of contact more effective than others?

The answer to all of these questions is "yes". And, you may be relieved to know that the old fashioned rules of correspondence still apply in today’s high tech world -- take the time to tailor your letter to the recipient and be polite. Whether you use snail mail, send an e-mail message or make a phone call, these time-tested principles combined with relevant, persuasive arguments will bring attention to the issues that concern you most.

According to Jenny B. Levy, a former staffer on Capitol Hill and the manager of Grassroots Advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, "If you want a response, you have to take a little more time than just hitting ‘send’ or ‘reply’. You have to think about how to address your member of Congress."

For correspondence, be sure to include your contact information so that the official’s staff knows where to reach you. In the first sentence, state why you are sending the letter or e-mail message. For example, "Millions of Americans are suffering from laughing sickness, and I urge you to vote in support of HR-0000: Laughing Sickness Research Funding."

The paragraphs that follow should provide personalized examples of why the issue is important to you. In the case of laughing sickness, has it affected you or your family? What’s been the impact on your community? How will a vote in favor of the bill help the community? What will happen if the official takes no action at all? If you have them, share data, facts or figures. End the letter stating the purpose again and summarizing why this action is important.

These tips apply to phone calls as well. State the reason for your call and then say why that is important to you. And, keep a level head no matter how passionate you are about the topic. "One of the biggest mistakes constituents make is being really angry and shouting," says Levy.

However, she notes, "The most effective way to have your voice heard is to actually go to Capitol Hill or the district office. We encourage our members to send a fax requesting a meeting and follow-up with a phone call." If the matter is more personal, Levy recommends visiting the district office.

Another effective way to draw the attention is using the newspaper. "They pay attention to the news from back home and keep clips." Submit a letter to the editor of your local paper or contribute an opinion/editorial article.

And, what about those form letters that advocacy groups encourage members to send en mass? "They tally the numbers to present on The Hill," explains Levy. But, your letter won’t get read unless you personalize it. Again, take that well-written frame and edit it to convey your interest in the issue.

If nothing changes after the first letter or phone call, don’t give up. "Democracy only works if we all speak," says Levy. "And, it takes persistence."

Photo credit: Architect of the Capitol

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2008 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Beltway Poetry Quarterly Readings

Beltway Poetry Quarterly will sponsor 2 readings just prior to the Split This Rock Festival (which is now accepting registrations.)

Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Split This Rock Poetry Festival Reading, sponsored by Beltway Poetry Quarterly.
Featured readers: Brian Gilmore, Melissa Tuckey, Heather Davis, and Steve Rogers. Followed by open mic. Iota Bar and Restaurant, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Clarendon neighborhood, Arlington, VA. (703) 522-8340. Series hosted by Miles David Moore - Free Admission. http://www.wordworksdc.com

Sunday, March 16, 4:00 pm
Sunday Kind of Love Reading Series: Split This Rock Festival Reading sponsored by Beltway Poetry Quarterly.
Featured readers: Winona Addison, Naomi Ayala, Teri Ellen Cross, Yael Flusberg, Tanya Snyder, Dan Vera, Rosemary Winslow, and Kathi Wolfe. Followed by open mic. Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Streets, NW, DC. (202) 387-POET. Free Admission, although contributions are gratefully accepted. Guest hosts: Kim Roberts and Regie Cabico.

Weirding Word (SM), a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, a virtural publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2008 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Weirding Word (SM) On Writers: Sarah Browning (Part 2)

In this posting, we continue an interview with Sarah Browning, author of Whiskey in the Garden of Eden and peace advocate.

WW: How do you approach your work? How do you create?
SB: These days the organizing has been crowding out the creative work far too much. In addition to coordinating DC Poets Against the War, I'm planning a major poetry festival, Split This Rock, for March of next year; I host a monthly series at Busboys and Poets, Sunday Kind of Love; and I have a part-time job at The Arts Club of Washington, administering their new National Award for Arts Writing.

So, I have to force myself to take time, even when/though it feels like there is no time. And I've been going away some on writing retreats. I was lucky to go to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts last December, for example.

WW: When you do sit down to write, how does the process happen for you?
SB: I like to read. So, I am often responding to, or jumping off from, something I have read. But, I never know where I'm going when I start to write. I have carried Pat Schneider's process forward into my regular practice, and try to let my unconscious lead me, at least at first. Of course it doesn't always work. Sometimes nothing comes except whining and worrying.

WW: How much of it do you end up recycling and what actually makes it?
SB: That percentage changes, but I'd say at least 80% doesn't make it out of the notebook. And some stuff that does get typed up withers on the vine.

WW: I can't remember the person, but I used to often see a quote, "The personal is political." Would you agree with that?
SB: Yes, that's been a slogan of the feminist and gay rights movement. I agree with it absolutely -- all of our interactions are influenced by social and political factors: race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. That doesn't mean I believe I am only a white, middle-class, well-educated woman, but that's a huge part of who I am. I can't help that. I once wrote a little poem:

WHITE
This poem
is a white poem
because I am white.
It is not a white poem
because it is a poem.

WW: What is different about your writing now that you didn’t expect when you first started? Would it be this consciousness about where your writing comes from and the socioeconomic influences that impact the writing?
SB: Certainly that's part of it. And the willingness to be so personally vulnerable in the writing. As I said, that was very scary for me 15 years ago.

WW: How did becoming published transform your life?
SB: I remember the first time I had a poem published in a literary journal -- these tiny magazines that may have a very modest readership but are the lifeblood of poetry. It was an incredible affirmation. Someone besides my sweet, supportive parents telling me I'd made the right decision to put writing more at the center of my life. And publishing a book is an incredible thing: exciting, scary, intensely vulnerable.

WW: At Weirding Word (SM), we believe that “language creates reality.” How does language create reality in your life? In your writing?
SB: I think as writers we always have to struggle to maintain an authentic language, especially in a culture that is drowning in the language of commerce, the language of propaganda, the language of subtle coercion. These are dead, artificial languages. We have wrestle with language, keep it on its toes, keep it alive. That's what gives me the greatest shot of pleasure -- when I feel like I'm engaging the language, and if I'm lucky, and working hard, maybe, just maybe, doing something a little bit new.

WW: What's next for you?
SB: I'm trying to get the book out there as much as possible, planning a number of readings. Focusing an enormous amount of energy on organizing Split This Rock. I hope folks will check it out at www.SplitThisRock.org. And trying to write new poems, revise poems that always, always need more work. Sometime next year, I hope to have a new manuscript. But I don't want to rush it…

WW: Sounds like you keep busy.
SB: My poetry productivity is pretty light these days, with everything else going on. So I'm just trying to be patient with myself. And at the same time, take myself to my writing notebook on a regular basis. It's the appointment I need to keep.

WW: What's your advice to new/budding writers out there?
SB: Read, read, read -- all kinds of writing, all kinds of poetry. Write frequently -- remember that most of it won't make it into published form. Find a community of like-minded writers and support one another: read each other's work, offer suggestions, arrange readings for one another, call up to complain when you get YET ANOTHER REJECTION from a literary journal on a piece of paper smaller than your thumb.

Sarah Browning's next reading is Sunday, December 9 at 6:00 p.m.:

Iota Bar and Restaurant
2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA
703-522-8340 or 703-256-9275

Weirding Word (SM), a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, helps you communicate your ideas and information more effectively through tailored editing, freelance writing, publication and web design services.

Copyright 2007-2008 Gaea L. Honeycutt All rights reserved.