Why I Write: An Essay about Essays

When I was seven, I wrote my first piece of non-fiction; a book.  It was five pages long, written and illustrated in bright Crayola marker on manila newsprint, stapled at the edge and entitled "Getting Ready for Church."  Although succinct and colorful, it enjoyed only a flash-in-the-pan moment of success with its small audience, my mom: Yet, I was hooked on the adrenaline rush. 

I love writing for an audience.  Whether a poem, a play, a short story, an essay, a speech, a class handout, a lesson, a piece of pedagogical documentation, or an extended research project, I love writing for an audience.

I have found a home for my poetry and the poetry of others.  I have found homes for all of my plays and short stories.  As a professor, my speeches, lessons, handouts and pedagogical documents have a captive (yet, mostly willing) audience.  My extended research projects, when polished and perfected, eventually will find their way into professional publications.  My only orphans, up until a few days ago, were my essays. 

An Essay is a Short Discussion of a Nonfiction Topic or Idea

Gypsy Daughter Essays will be just as it promises to be in its title; a home for those orphaned essays, my short discussions of non-fiction topics and ideas.  This will be a home with a window for my audience to add comments, ask questions, and add to the discussions.  I plan for it to be cozy and comfortable, filled up and warm with essays on a variety of topics.  I don't mind strays; they will all find a home here.  If you enjoy my work and want to come back often, I do recommend "following" or subscribing to my blog by email or RSS to receive notifications of new posts.

The best part of writing essays is that they can be on any topic and use any tactic necessary to help the reader understand or accept an insight or point of view.  Therefore, the topics you find here will span several additional topics, like arts and crafts, poetry, lifestyle, cooking, critical thinking, and sociology.

So, thank you for stopping by.  You are welcome to my cozy little home for essays, and you are welcome to add comments, ask questions, and add to the discussion.  I'm going to wrap up in an afghan and write some more.