Like my blogging buddy Nigel Byng, who tagged me for this challenge, I’ve never participated in one of these before. It seems sort of fun–a tiny interview of sorts–so I decided to take part in it. Here are my answers to the challenge questions:

How did you come up with your blog name?

My blog’s name, Silent Pariah, has its genesis in a few places. First, I’m deaf. I began losing my hearing at age eighteen due to meningitis, so it’s been a progressive loss over the course of the past forty-two years. My world began fading to silence decades ago, and now what little I can still hear is very faint and muffled. So, for all intents and purposes, I live in silence.

Second, I’m extremely introverted and was painfully shy for much of my early life. So, deafness and introversion have resulted in a life of quiet solitude.

Third, I was born and raised in Utah, a state dominated by one religion (mormonism). I was not an adherent of that religion and refused to convert, so I became a pariah in junior high and high school. I have very few good memories of that period. Just frequent bullying and isolation, never being allowed to fit in anywhere, and a lot of discrimination academically, athletically and socially.

So, Silent Pariah fits.

If your blog was a person (fictional or real), who would it be?

Well, it would be me, of course. Every word and image I post on my blog comes from my heart and soul, and it’s impossible to separate the creation from the creator—my fingerprints cover every poem, essay and nature photo on my blog. All I want is to be myself–to be allowed to be myself–without judgment, so why would I want my blog to be anything but me? My blog is my safe place, my refuge, and here you’ll find my authentic self, for better or worse.

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

My fellow blogging buddy Nigel Byng‘s response to this same question brought a huge smile to my face, and I’m going to return the favor. I’d love to do a collaboration with Nigel. His writing is beyond brilliant, turbo-charged emotionally, captivating and profound. I hope he and I can work on a project together once the new year gets underway. I can think of a few others I’d like to work with as well, and who knows what may happen?

Is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?

I think my greatest fault as a blogger/writer is persistent crippling writer’s block. I deal with major depression and have since childhood (severely dysfunctional family with domestic abuse), and depression kills creativity, motivation and energy. When these periods of writer’s block strike, they last for months or years, and I never know when they’ll end. It’s terrifying as a writer to stare at the blank page or screen and realize there is absolutely, positively nothing in my head. Just a void. Blogging means posting material regularly. It’s difficult to post anything if I can’t write anything new. So, I think writer’s block is the main issue I’d like to be able to resolve. Writing is like breathing, and when I have writer’s block, I’m suffocating in silence.

Do you have a specific style of blogging?

While one way to describe my blogging style is intermittent due to writer’s block, I’d also say my style is brutal honesty, not being afraid to explore the darkest aspects of my life. Fear, guilt, shame, loneliness, sorrow, hopes, dreams, despair…nothing is off-limits as far as my poetry and essays are concerned. I’ve lived a troubled life, and writing about my life makes for some uncomfortable poetry at times. My work isn’t for everyone, and I understand this. Most readers enjoy happier themes; I couldn’t write fluff poetry if my life depended on it. I write from experience, and my life experiences generally tend to fall on the side of despair and loss and loneliness. I sometimes refer to myself as The Depressing Poetry Dude, but that’s okay. My goal is to be me and no one else.

My Nominees:

Aaysid (Outrageously Erratic blog)

David Bogomolny (The Skeptic’s Kaddish blog)

Peggy Stroud (Peggy Writes blog)

Lauren Scott (Baydreamer Writes blog)

(Note: While I’ve listed four nominees for the challenge, please don’t feel obligated to participate if you’d prefer not to take part. No worries at all. 😊)