Bard To Verse - To the enjoyment of words and meaning

Bard To Verse

Updated: 23-September-2011

Welcome

This web site is the collection of articles, stories and verse that I have put together over the years, and a repository of the new material that I am still producing. It is also about meaning, the sense behind words that can easily get lost when lips speak, ears hear, but minds misinterpret if there is no common base of understanding.

Because much of my career has been spent in the international arena I have had the privilege of hearing the English language spoken in a multitude of ways in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada and China. I have also worked with people from countries way beyond that and enjoyed a newcomers' interpretations of what they thought a word meant from their misreading of a dictionary definition. I have been amused, sometimes astounded, to find that words we use every day in the UK can take on a whole new sense in America. For example, we carry a torch in the UK to light our way in a darkened street or during a power cut, whereas in the USA the same phrase means that you are madly in love with someone.

The Double Edged Internet

So when we consider that the ubiquitous Internet is allowing us to send messages all over the world, mostly to people whose second language is English, we must consider much more than content, grammar or syntax. We must also think about the meaning we are conveying and whether or not our words will induce the ideas or emotional responses that we intended at the other end. Couple the endless possibilities for disaster that a medium such as electronic mail can produce with the proliferation of sites such as this one which contains even more words, and we find that the Internet is a double edged sword with knobs on. Of course I wouldn't be without it, but as with my car which is just as essential to my daily life, I treat both with care and respect.

Why Create This Site?

Well, I have written, and still write, a great deal of material which I do not expect will ever be published. Not because it's of bad quality or poorly written, but simply because the vagaries of the publishing world will almost certainly result in much of my work being 'not what they are looking for at this time'. So I have decided to take the literary bull by the horns and publish my work on the Internet. Commercially ridiculous perhaps but as I have a very good day job, and as I don't ever expect to have any of this published, I do not mind if people read my words for free. But that doesn't mean I'm giving away the copyright, it's still mine, and if a film company tries to steal one of my ideas for a blockbuster I'll sue the pants off them!

By the way if you would like to buy a copy of my book, a fictional autobiography of Jesus Christ, it is available in electronic and paper form - click here for more details.



Updated: 23-September-2011	Welcome This web site is the collection of articles, stories and verse that I have put together over the years, and a repository of the new material that I am still producing. It is also about meaning, the sense behind words that can easily get lost when lips speak, ears hear, but minds misinterpret if there is no common base of understanding. Because much of my career has been spent in the international arena I have had the privilege of hearing the English language spoken in a multitude of ways in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada and China. I have also worked with people from countries way beyond that and enjoyed a newcomers' interpretations of what they thought a word meant from their misreading of a dictionary definition. I have been amused, sometimes astounded, to find that words we use every day in the UK can take on a whole new sense in America. For example, we carry a torch in the UK to light our way in a darkened street or during a power cut, whereas in the USA the same phrase means that you are madly in love with someone. The Double Edged Internet So when we consider that the ubiquitous Internet is allowing us to send messages all over the world, mostly to people whose second language is English, we must consider much more than content, grammar or syntax. We must also think about the meaning we are conveying and whether or not our words will induce the ideas or emotional responses that we intended at the other end. Couple the endless possibilities for disaster that a medium such as electronic mail can produce with the proliferation of sites such as this one which contains even more words, and we find that the Internet is a double edged sword with knobs on. Of course I wouldn't be without it, but as with my car which is just as essential to my daily life, I treat both with care and respect. Why Create This Site? Well, I have written, and still write, a great deal of material which I do not expect will ever be published. Not because it's of bad quality or poorly written, but simply because the vagaries of the publishing world will almost certainly result in much of my work being 'not what they are looking for at this time'. So I have decided to take the literary bull by the horns and publish my work on the Internet. Commercially ridiculous perhaps but as I have a very good day job, and as I don't ever expect to have any of this published, I do not mind if people read my words for free. But that doesn't mean I'm giving away the copyright, it's still mine, and if a film company tries to steal one of my ideas for a blockbuster I'll sue the pants off them! By the way if you would like to buy a copy of my book, a fictional autobiography of Jesus Christ, it is available in electronic and paper form - click here for more details.