Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 12:24 pm
For those of you interested in the history of Wild, here's the whole story:
Welcome to Wild! And with those words, a community was born. This is the tale of Wild Poetry Forum – how it was conceived, who started it, why it is so important to a daring initial group of renegades and those who now find their way to our doors.
Wild Poetry Forum (WPF or Wild, as we like to call it) was the brainchild of two very imaginative and courageous women, Sister Ulv (aka, Debby (D. J.) Clowes) and Jaguwar (aka, Michelle Petit-Sumerall). After spending time at another poetry board they found restrictive and downright abusive at times, it became the dream of these two women to build an interactive community of writers and poets aged 13 and older whose goals were to improve their writing skills, and, of course, to share their creative thoughts with others. Most important to these women, however, was the idea that this community be a safe haven, one in which everyone from novice writers to published professionals would work side-by-side in a spirit of peace and cooperation. Wild would be an interactive community where information would be shared with discretion and gentleness, critiques and suggestions given with courtesy and respect, and infractions handled with diplomacy and grace. They believed that writers could thrive and improve their work in a gentle and warm environment as well as or better than in a place where toughness and severity were the order of the day. In other words, Sister Ulv and Jaguwar wanted to create a fully functional and good-spirited family.
And so, after much dedicated effort and endless nights of burning the candle at both ends, WPF opened its doors on November 5, 1998. We were a fledgling group of refugees at that time, perhaps only about 15-20 people strong, but we all had one very important thing in common – the belief that we could institute and maintain a place on the web where people of all races, ages, genders, colors, creeds, and experience levels could work and play in harmony.
As to Wild’s name, both Sister Ulv and Jaguwar settled on the name "Creative Hieroglyphics." However, Sis decided this was not really representative of the environment they wanted to create. So, on her own she went searching for something else. Because of her strong interest in mythology, fantasy, science fiction, and the like, her search brought her to a concept she refers to as "healers" or "shamans" who work outside the bounds of traditional society. These people, though their education might not be formalized, learn their techniques in the meadows, the mountains, and the natural world around them. They are just as skilled as their more traditionally-schooled counterparts, though they are often not recognized as such. These people are called "Wilders." They buck the system and they think outside the box. And that’s how she came to think of our members.
Though there are quite a few individuals among our membership now who do have traditional degrees in creative writing, just as many of our members are self-taught, yet they are no less skilled. As Sis said, "just because we do not have a degree on parchment that does not mean we can’t capture the imagination of others with our word music. We are 'Wilders' who have rebelled against a system that could not contain us and practice our own brand of healing on the poet’s heart. And guess what? It worked." And hence, the name Wild Poetry Forum was selected.
In June of 2005, Sister Ulv and Jaguwar turned over the stewardship of WPF. They felt that they had taken WPF as far as they could and the demands of their overly busy lives left them little time to devote to maintaining and growing Wild in the way they both envisioned. We try to pilot Wild with the same grace, objectivity, and openness that remained the hallmark of our two founders during their entire administration. They still remain on staff and often work in the background to offer wise counsel and gentle guidance whenever necessary. And of course we must mention Wild's terrific moderators (both past and present). Without these critical staff members (who are overworked and paid nothing), Wild would be lost.
And finally, there is our magnificent membership whom we listen to and ask advice of at every opportunity. Wild was, is, and always will be a team effort. We are under no delusions about who really runs the show.
At this vantage point, it is with a great deal of pride in our Wilders that we can say we did accomplish our goal. WPF has gone through many changes over the years, a great deal of remodeling and renovation, and yet it is and will always remain the safe haven that our founding mothers first envisioned. We have grown to a size none of us could have predicted (at the time of this writing, WPF has registered members from 38 countries representing all the populated continents around the globe) and still we cultivate and insist on a climate of cooperation and civility, encouragement and support. Established members share their creativity without rancor and new members are welcomed with open arms. Quite a few of our members have gone from novice writers to published authors by working hard in WPF’s forums to learn the craft of writing. Many have told us that they consider Wild their second home. And that after experiencing the harshness and cruelty of some other writing forums on the web, they find WPF a breath of fresh air. Personally, we can think of no greater compliment or legacy than that.
Thank you for your interest in WPF. If you are a contributor on the forums, whether you have been with us for just a few days or many years, we thank you for sharing with us your thoughts, your words, your internal music. Without you, WPF would be just "another site on the web." You have made Wild Poetry Forum a success story, and you will remain the driving force behind all of our endeavors.
In Love and Peace,
WPF Administration
________________________________________
Special thanks also goes to all those original members, developers, moderators, and supporters (both financially and spiritually) of Wild Poetry Forum. Without them and their dedication, words, ideas, time, and efforts, WPF simply would not exist.
Welcome to Wild! And with those words, a community was born. This is the tale of Wild Poetry Forum – how it was conceived, who started it, why it is so important to a daring initial group of renegades and those who now find their way to our doors.
Wild Poetry Forum (WPF or Wild, as we like to call it) was the brainchild of two very imaginative and courageous women, Sister Ulv (aka, Debby (D. J.) Clowes) and Jaguwar (aka, Michelle Petit-Sumerall). After spending time at another poetry board they found restrictive and downright abusive at times, it became the dream of these two women to build an interactive community of writers and poets aged 13 and older whose goals were to improve their writing skills, and, of course, to share their creative thoughts with others. Most important to these women, however, was the idea that this community be a safe haven, one in which everyone from novice writers to published professionals would work side-by-side in a spirit of peace and cooperation. Wild would be an interactive community where information would be shared with discretion and gentleness, critiques and suggestions given with courtesy and respect, and infractions handled with diplomacy and grace. They believed that writers could thrive and improve their work in a gentle and warm environment as well as or better than in a place where toughness and severity were the order of the day. In other words, Sister Ulv and Jaguwar wanted to create a fully functional and good-spirited family.
And so, after much dedicated effort and endless nights of burning the candle at both ends, WPF opened its doors on November 5, 1998. We were a fledgling group of refugees at that time, perhaps only about 15-20 people strong, but we all had one very important thing in common – the belief that we could institute and maintain a place on the web where people of all races, ages, genders, colors, creeds, and experience levels could work and play in harmony.
As to Wild’s name, both Sister Ulv and Jaguwar settled on the name "Creative Hieroglyphics." However, Sis decided this was not really representative of the environment they wanted to create. So, on her own she went searching for something else. Because of her strong interest in mythology, fantasy, science fiction, and the like, her search brought her to a concept she refers to as "healers" or "shamans" who work outside the bounds of traditional society. These people, though their education might not be formalized, learn their techniques in the meadows, the mountains, and the natural world around them. They are just as skilled as their more traditionally-schooled counterparts, though they are often not recognized as such. These people are called "Wilders." They buck the system and they think outside the box. And that’s how she came to think of our members.
Though there are quite a few individuals among our membership now who do have traditional degrees in creative writing, just as many of our members are self-taught, yet they are no less skilled. As Sis said, "just because we do not have a degree on parchment that does not mean we can’t capture the imagination of others with our word music. We are 'Wilders' who have rebelled against a system that could not contain us and practice our own brand of healing on the poet’s heart. And guess what? It worked." And hence, the name Wild Poetry Forum was selected.
In June of 2005, Sister Ulv and Jaguwar turned over the stewardship of WPF. They felt that they had taken WPF as far as they could and the demands of their overly busy lives left them little time to devote to maintaining and growing Wild in the way they both envisioned. We try to pilot Wild with the same grace, objectivity, and openness that remained the hallmark of our two founders during their entire administration. They still remain on staff and often work in the background to offer wise counsel and gentle guidance whenever necessary. And of course we must mention Wild's terrific moderators (both past and present). Without these critical staff members (who are overworked and paid nothing), Wild would be lost.
And finally, there is our magnificent membership whom we listen to and ask advice of at every opportunity. Wild was, is, and always will be a team effort. We are under no delusions about who really runs the show.
At this vantage point, it is with a great deal of pride in our Wilders that we can say we did accomplish our goal. WPF has gone through many changes over the years, a great deal of remodeling and renovation, and yet it is and will always remain the safe haven that our founding mothers first envisioned. We have grown to a size none of us could have predicted (at the time of this writing, WPF has registered members from 38 countries representing all the populated continents around the globe) and still we cultivate and insist on a climate of cooperation and civility, encouragement and support. Established members share their creativity without rancor and new members are welcomed with open arms. Quite a few of our members have gone from novice writers to published authors by working hard in WPF’s forums to learn the craft of writing. Many have told us that they consider Wild their second home. And that after experiencing the harshness and cruelty of some other writing forums on the web, they find WPF a breath of fresh air. Personally, we can think of no greater compliment or legacy than that.
Thank you for your interest in WPF. If you are a contributor on the forums, whether you have been with us for just a few days or many years, we thank you for sharing with us your thoughts, your words, your internal music. Without you, WPF would be just "another site on the web." You have made Wild Poetry Forum a success story, and you will remain the driving force behind all of our endeavors.
In Love and Peace,
WPF Administration
________________________________________
Special thanks also goes to all those original members, developers, moderators, and supporters (both financially and spiritually) of Wild Poetry Forum. Without them and their dedication, words, ideas, time, and efforts, WPF simply would not exist.