Hello

[flotsson]

I'm really bad at introductions, but such is the way of things. So, hey, hello, hi, I'm Ember, going by the handle Flotsson. I have an academic background in logic and the English literatures of the Victorian era and of the African diaspora. Despite that, I actually have no particular training or academic interest in poetry. Instead, I write bad poetry in my free time as something of a hobby and the only way to get better is with feedback. Likewise, I hope I can give some good criticism to people hoping to improve their work!

[brynmawr1]

I'm really bad at introductions, but such is the way of things. So, hey, hello, hi, I'm Ember, going by the handle Flotsson. I have an academic background in logic and the English literatures of the Victorian era and of the African diaspora. Despite that, I actually have no particular training or academic interest in poetry. Instead, I write bad poetry in my free time as something of a hobby and the only way to get better is with feedback. Likewise, I hope I can give some good criticism to people hoping to improve their work!

Hi Flotsson,

Welcome to the Pen.  You have already started out ahead by giving a critique without posting anything. I am looking forward to tearing your poems apart 
Take care,
bryn

[busker]

I'm really bad at introductions, but such is the way of things. So, hey, hello, hi, I'm Ember, going by the handle Flotsson. I have an academic background in logic and the English literatures of the Victorian era and of the African diaspora. Despite that, I actually have no particular training or academic interest in poetry. Instead, I write bad poetry in my free time as something of a hobby and the only way to get better is with feedback. Likewise, I hope I can give some good criticism to people hoping to improve their work!

Hi Flotsson, and welcome to the Pen

Please do educate the rest of us on African diaspora literature. Some of the writers like Achebe and Adiche are well known, but not so much the others. There’s more to the site than poetry, as you’ll discover.

[flotsson]

Hi Flotsson, and welcome to the Pen

Please do educate the rest of us on African diaspora literature. Some of the writers like Achebe and Adiche are well known, but not so much the others. There’s more to the site than poetry, as you’ll discover.

Hi, I'm not sure if you're looking for a list of works, but I can name a few writers to whom I am attached. Mostly, I work in short stories, but those can be quite difficult to find, so I'll try to stick to novelists. For writers that speak to an American experience, I am a big fan of Jesmyn Ward, Jewelle Gomez and Octavia Butler. Most of the work I deal with is of Caribbean origin, such as the work of V. S. Naipaul, Maryse Condé, and in particular Jamaica Kincaid. Where I study, African writings are usually not considered part of the diaspora as such, but many writers attempt to speak to an African experience to some degree, especially those writing YA such as Tomi Adeyemi and Nnedi Okorafor, both of which have series that are good light reads for an adult. I'll stop now out of fear that I'll fall into the stereotype of an academic that won't stop talking about their field when asked.

[crow]

We want poets, you fool, poets!

Welcome to the last corner of the internet that is truly awesome.

You say you write bad poetry, we say you write amazing poetry that hasn’t been critiqued and revised seven or eight times.

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If you don’t mind saying, Flotsson is a peculiar screen name. Is there a story behind it?

[flotsson]

We want poets, you fool, poets!

Welcome to the last corner of the internet that is truly awesome.

You say you write bad poetry, we say you write amazing poetry that hasn’t been critiqued and revised seven or eight times.

---

If you don’t mind saying, Flotsson is a peculiar screen name. Is there a story behind it?

This is from way back, but I was away for a while, not just being rude. I picked it when I was 12 as a username. It fit my criteria of not being taken anywhere, pronounceable and composed of randomish letters. Also it sounds like flotsam, and I liked that at the time.