I thought about starting this blog several times before and never got it going beyond the idea stage. And then I started thinking that I just missed my moment for diving in to the world of blogging. However, many moments come back around. And sometimes work out better later on. Or it’s not a single moment, but a confluence.

I recently started reading An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain by Diane Ackerman. She talks about the discovery of a new species of gecko, tiny enough to curl up on a dime, on a remote island in the Caribbean. (The book was published in 2004, so the story of the lizard is old news but still cool.) How amazing is it that new species can still be discovered? (And depressing that many have probably vanished without our knowledge.)

Then I came across the poem “A Legend of Provence” by Adelaide Anne Procter. While the overall point of the poem is arguably a bit more spiritual than intellectual, I was struck by these lines:

“No star is ever lost we once have seen,

We may always be what we might have been.”

Since I am coming out of a period of some personal upheaval, this probably touched me more than it might have at another moment in life’s river.

Why not refocus on the myriad of things I’d like to learn about? Yes, the word “thing” is distasteful and I usually caution my students about using in writing. But sometimes it does encapsulate the breadth of meaning we are searching for. (Sometimes it’s just easier than finding another word, but since my interests are wide ranging, I think I can use it here.)

There’s so much I want to know and discover. It’s not just books to read, or places to go, or activities to try, but all of these.

Becoming a polymath is a lifelong process. I doubt that anyone who loves to learn ever feels “finished” with knowledge. So the title of this blog reflects my desire to be a polymath, not a claim that I already am and everyone should therefore listen to me about how to be a lover of knowledge.

That’s what being a polymath, or Renaissance humanist, or autodidact (or whatever name one wants to assign) really is to me – embracing a love of learning.

If I were independently wealthy, I would go to school all the time. I love the atmosphere of learning and the opportunity for sharing ideas that can be found in a university. I would collect degrees (in nearly everything I could – I do draw the line at taking calculus again) and make lovely designs on my wall with them. Of course, with obscene wealth, I would also see every play each summer at the Ashland and Cedar City Shakespeare Festivals, have custom bookshelves built for my comics collection, follow my two favorite music groups around for a few weeks – but wouldn’t lots of people do the same?

Okay, maybe not the first two.  But I stand by them as an excellent plan.

Which means I should confess to my extreme nerdiness, (although some level of it is made obvious by the subject of the blog). My nerdiness, or geekitude, comes in many flavors, most concerning the arts in some way. I love art in all forms – novels, short stories, poetry, comics, film, plays, painting, memoirs, sculpture, essays, television, theatre, music, museums, architecture, gardens, concerts – okay, I’m sure you’re getting the point. (And yes, with that theoretical wealth, I would also take art classes – and maybe be able to draw more than lopsided stick figures. Some day.)

At any rate, this is the direction of the blog. An exploration of everything I can learn – because repeating what we learn and sharing it helps us to make it more a part of ourselves. Although I feel certain that I will digress frequently into an exploration of old knowledge – favorites and not-so-favorites – in an effort to make connections.

Wish me luck, and feel free to make suggestions for me – things that I should read or see or experience – things that you have enjoyed and found worthwhile.

Plus, I am using this as a platform for posting my efforts during National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). Those of you who don’t care for poetry, I am not offended if you skip that part.

P.S. About the Blogosphere – Since I want to contribute to the blogging community, I figure I should spend some time reading other blogs. I’ll share comments on what I read and hopefully spread the word on some good sites. Maybe one or two each week, with a report on what I’ve read.