excelsior blogiversary

Today is officially the first anniversary of the excelsior file. I like that the word giver is embedded in the word blogiversary.

A lot has happened in the last year. It isn't like me to toot my own horn but I'm feeling like maybe this once I need to get over the awkwardness of the whole thing and just do it.

A year ago today I jumped into the kidlit blogosphere with the idea of using this blog as a place for exploring my continued personal education in children's literature. I had just started reviewing for The Horn Book Guide but knew I wanted to say more about books than could fit into 60 word summaries.

I can get wordy. I'll try to keep this brief.

As months went on I wasn't sure if the blog was anything more than the proverbial tree falling in the forest: did anyone hear me as I felled those trees? Comments were scarce, other bloggerss out there were covering the same territory (better in many cases, I thought), and I was on the verge of giving up and refocusing my energies elsewhere. But all along there was a stream of comments from kidlit bloggers -- a trickle grew to a brook, then into a stream, not quite a river -- and there was no doubt of my continuing; I felt compelled, I couldn't stop.

Today I find myself at a different juncture. I'm still blogging, still reviewing, but I feel a need to go beyond reviewing books. I've occasionally dabbled in opinions and rants but they always felt out of place on this blog.

Then there was this little matter this past August, when I applied for grad school and then managed to get myself accepted. Starting in January (unless something staggeringly unusual or unfortunate happens) I'll begin work on my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

As part of the process I decided I wanted to set up a place for documenting the journey from kidlit blogger to kidlit author. Or at least potential kidlit author. So for the past month behind the scenes I've been working out the rough edges of a new space, a new blog, one that will run parallel with this one. It's called fomagrams.

the excelsior file will continue as a home for reviews of children's literature, as it almost always has, and I'm hoping to maintain the steady flow of reviews. fomagrams will cover more personal issues, it will document my student life, my home life, and the various and sundry things that I feel the sudden urge to share with the world. Those who want only the reviews can keep visiting me here (and I hope you do) while those who want to watch the slow-motion train wreck that is my mid-life academic career can visit me at fomagrams.

To all who have joined me this far -- both in the post and with the blog -- thanks. Sorry it wasn't as short as I'd hoped. I'll work on keeping it shorter next year.

We're gonna break out the hats and hooters, it's party time...