"Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee" John Donne 1572-1631.
Greetings my loyal band of Substack readers who continue to break my heart as they do not become PAID SUBSCRIBERS!!!!!!. Somehow John Donne has entered my writing space. The quotation above is from his prose piece called DEVOTIONS UPON EMERGENT OCCASIONS.
I have always been moved by these two lines and see them as motivators while Ernest Hemmingway simply pinched them to use as the title of a novel. The two lines preceding are
EACH MAN’S DEATH DIMINSHES ME . FOR I AM INVOLVED IN MANKIND.
So in the spirit of Donne’s words, a bracing new year filled with high hopes along with some truly evil examples of crime and punishment in Gaza, the bell above is tolling for my enthusiastic readers numbering about 120 on last count and my 16 paid subscribers.
The substack free loaders rant i did a month ago was read widely but brought no penitent act and nobody parted with 80 bucks annual subscription. The people running substack know all this and have sent out tips to make people pay up and become paid subscribers. I am to improve my pitch? Well I am dead duck in the water now as I have two polarities. Ask nicely using serenity and grace or pull out the Cannon and blast away. I have no skill with spider web diplomacy.
So I am straddling the horns of a dilemma which makes me wonder if this is an ‘emergent occasion’. ? So I favoured the bell image used above. But how does one compare the ringing of a bell to the firing of a cannon.? Truly all suggestions are welcome.
This star spangled new year will see my new work of fiction published in Fall 2024. So my mood is optimistic as long as the editor knocking my manuscript into shape does not ring the bell too often. I am already working on a long and ambitious new work on Historical fiction which will be my biggest challenge but I am ready for months of writing and keeping the rest of the discipline of daily life in place. No lunches with the odd reckless martini to be indulged in. Of course I am entirely unworthy of this chaste utterance. II can be seduced by a Mars chocolate Bar as I pay for my gas ?
After a year of writing my Substack wild and woolly columns which are truly a joy and keep my writing hand firmly placed on the keyboard i want to thank all my readers for not letting me become a slouch. The brain storming sessions of what to write about keeps the grey cells buzzing. I want to thank two writing pals who suggested I get on to substack. The enchantress in London Leah McLaren who is bright as a button and making lamps out of vintage lingerie these days as she works on the outline of her new novel and secondly my Canadian Literary consiglieri, code name, Cloudland Guru M who said “ it will be a good place for your scribbles:” When Guru M speaks I obey. It is a bell tolling of epic proportions. Once when I complained about her stern injunctions and even had the gall to suggest perhaps she was being a tad harsh she said “No, I am just being firm with you.”
So back to John Donne who made a bigger splash than Shakespeare . He was an English poet, Scholar, soldier and later became a cleric in the Church of England. He was considered to be one of the finest metaphysical poet of his time. Stylistically, he used abrupt openings, paradoxes and ironies. He wrote both secular as well as erotic and love poems. Despite his education and poetic talents he spent the money he inherited on Womanizing, Literature and Travel. Reduced to poverty he was forced By the King to become an ordained Anglican deacon and even served as a member of Parliament. Therefore, it would be wise to surmise that he knew who the bell tolled for.
Our digital bliss world is full of commentary on world and local events daily. Everyone is a revolutionary, Woke or post woke . This is finger pointing and a double dose of outrage and trauma but who is turning inwards? I cannot afford to support charities financially but I do pick up my pet bag lady outside Shoppers and feed her something warm and carb laden at the local Timmys. There by the grace of God go I.
So I end this column with the hope that subscriptions will flow and my faith in entertaining or challenging you will be restored. An avalanche of living expenses pile up at my doorstep. Time for the paywall to be activated perhaps? A good defence, well crafted and sent to me as response will be given due consideration. Hasta La Vista.