I'm leaving in about an hour to go to Boston this weekend, and the excitement's alive in me. I'm looking forward to rambling around the city I called home for several years, reconnecting with friends and Haley House, and generally, for a few days, living a high-pitch version of a life that found me at just the right time.
I'll also be at the Women, Action & the Media conference ("conference" is to dry a word for it) for some celebration, plotting, laughing, learning, skill-building, visioning, and coffee-sipping. This, my fourth WAM! conference, also marks the third anniversary of Isak; this website was born at a blog workshop I took at the 2006 WAM! with the brilliant Christine Cupaiuolo. (I measure Isak's birthday by WAM! conferences, rather than the specific date of the workshop which was actually in early April that year.)
Honestly, I can't remember life before Isak. What the hell did I do with all these thoughts rattling around in my head before I had this space for shared, regular reflection and analysis? Did I monologue to my friends who were too polite to say anything? If so, my apologies.
The debut post of Isak appeared on a very different (and rough) design palate and, on its first day, saw six visitors--five of which were probably me checking in to make sure the website was still there, and one of which was my mother.
Today, 2020 posts (actually, this post is the 2021st) and nearly 1,000 comments later, Isak receives between 150 and 300 hits a day. It's grown to include guest posts, exclusive interviews, and book reviews, as well as series' on Detroit and, this last year, on the 1980s. Literary and media commentary remain the focus here, with interests in creative nonviolence, culture, and politics regularly making appearances.
I'm profoundly grateful for those of you I've gotten to know through Isak, those of you who share ideas and links for content (Mike I. and Chris M. in particular!), to Amy H. who volunteers her time as Isak copywriter (saving many a gaffe from lingering too long on this site), and to those who join the conversation and push my thinking through your comments and emails. Also, thank you to the publishers and presses that bring amazing reading my way.
It's been great fun. Cheers to the next year!
Happy Blog Day!
Posted by: Ben | March 26, 2009 at 08:29 PM
Happy anniversary!
Posted by: Dan Wickett | March 27, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Happy blogiversary! Have fun in Boston!
Posted by: Stefanie | March 28, 2009 at 10:42 AM
yay blog birthdays!
Posted by: Chris | March 28, 2009 at 02:29 PM
Thanks everyone, I appreciate it!
Posted by: Anna Clark | March 28, 2009 at 11:31 PM