Welcome to Keys & Quill! I acquired this little corner of the Internet to serve as a home for my writing and a place to direct people who might be interested in working with me, but as I started thinking about what to post here, my ideas kept growing. I have a lot of interests and a lot of things that I want to learn more about and discuss with other people, so it seemed the obvious solution was to expand this site from a digital portfolio into a place to share my experiences and things I’ve learned in a way that will hopefully make you want to join me on my adventures.
So what can you expect to find here? Why would you want to hang out with me? I perhaps shouldn’t admit that I don’t have a definite plan. I am interested in a pretty wide range of topics, and I see this as a place where I can explore whatever interests me. I was an English major in college, so it goes without saying that I love literature. There’s beauty everywhere in the literary landscape, from the dark depths of Dante’s Inferno to the fallen world of Milton’s Paradise Lost, from the perfect lines of Shakespeare’s wooden O to the tragicomic life and loss portrayed by Stoppard’s player king… I could go on and on. Stick around, and you will have ample opportunity to delve into the depths with me.
Another great love of mine is history. I could never understand how the characters in Harry Potter were so disinterested in their history classes at Hogwarts. Dark wizards? Witch burnings? Goblin revolts? If these kids don’t have any better appreciation of this action-packed history, maybe they need to switch places with me, since I’m clearly more deserving of their place at Hogwarts! Joking aside, history is essentially a bunch of dramatic true stories. So maybe we don’t all get overexcited about the prospect of reading a list of the contents of a midden heap (yes, that is just a fancy name for a garbage dump), but murder and betrayal and adultery are always exciting, right? I had the good fortune of having some very good history teachers who relayed the stories more than the dry facts, and I hope to be able to do that for you, as well. If you already love history, hopefully you can learn something you didn’t know before, and if not, maybe I can come up with some fun stories that will change your mind.
So here are some things that you can expect to find on Keys & Quill: I’m going to talk about some interesting people and places. These may be character studies, history lessons, travel guides, literary discussions – anything that is interesting to me and seems like something that might be interesting to you.
I’ll give you a roundup of Things I’m Digging This Week. These might include a museum exhibit I’m excited about, an account or blog I’m following, an article that I read, a fun place I went, a great outfit, a beautiful sunset; you name it, it could be on there. I hope you’ll dig these things as much as I do!
I will also periodically post round-ups of exciting cultural events from all over; sort of a more specialized version of Things I’m Digging. Hopefully you’ll find something in your neck of the woods that you can see in person!
In short, I want Keys & Quill to become the online version of your favorite magazine – maybe the one you’ve been hoping for but that doesn’t actually exist. Somewhere that everyone can find something that interests them, and maybe find a new passion for something they didn’t even realize they’d be into. To help me make this dream a reality, I want to hear from you! Comment, email, or tag me and let me know what you’re loving, what you’d like to see more of, or what you wish I would talk about. I want this place to evolve and grow with us, and I need your help to make that happen.
So grab a drink, find a cozy seat, and join me. Let’s make something wonderful together.
