I’ve been collecting books for decades. Many of them wound interesting, but I’ve never found time to read them. One of these came off the shelf the other day and made me think ‘Are you obsolete?’ about these posts.
Internet Writing
Millions of people write on the internet. Their topics are almost anything you can think of.
I’ve been posting to a website for over ten years. My topics have been on nature, hiking, science, goats and my books.
If the writers could go back and read something they wrote many years ago, what would they think about it?
John Gould
Back in the late 1940s to 1950s, John Gould wrote short topics that were published in newspapers, magazines and books. The book I read was “Neither Hay Nor Grass” published in 1951.
Gould lived in rural Maine. He wrote about living there, the people he knew, things that happened. This sounds a lot like internet posts of today.
One of the reasons I read this book was to find out more about the times it was written in. It certainly did that.
Gould’s wife was mentioned several times. Usually the mention was about her wonderful cooking. His daughter was to learn this.
Education was not very important. Rural ways and values were more important.
Are You Obsolete?
Gould was writing about a world about to see major changes. Most people would cut their ties to the land and become urban. Women would be able to be more than housewives and cooks.
Jobs were becoming more demanding, requiring better educations. Pollution was about to be confronted as “Silent Spring” was published.
My conclusion is that I am obsolete and many of my posts are not even close to mainstream. I may have grown up urban, but I’ve become rural to a great extent.
Will I change? No. My posts reflect my lifestyle. I can’t write about urban topics as I haven’t been in the big cities for decades.
Perhaps other internet writers and authors should ask themselves ‘Are you obsolete?” An honest answer might change what they write. Or it might not.
