As the weblog begins, Watermark tests out the blogging waters – how much should be revealed? Will readers get what’s being posted? I’m sure those questions come to the minds of many bloggers at they jump into the realm of online diaries and such. The author and creator responsible for this weblog manages to quickly accomplish the feat of finding her comfort level of sharing.
Watermark isn’t the typical weblog that gives a moment by moment evaluation of what goes on in our author’s daily life. Instead, it tells her life in a more creative way – through her poetry. It’s not a sordid collection of limericks or nursery rhyme-type entries, though, so don’t count on that. Sharon, the author/creator/amazing poet, finds ways to write so many different types of poetry about so many different things.
One of my favorite posts can be found here, which includes several pictures and a poem, including this excerpt:
dozens
of photos
hoping for oneperfect
snapshot of
this perfect day
The title at the top of the site calls Watermark “a poet’s notebook”, which is a description that fits very nicely. The entire weblog is made up of much more then just original poetry, though. Sharon sprinkles in a nice helping of pictures from time to time, as well as links she finds interesting. The variety she uses in what she posts is definitely a great way to keep people coming back.
The layout is just like every other layout. In this case, it’s not a bad thing at all. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the simplicity of a solid white background, with black text. With only slightly exaggerations, there are a ton of links down the left side of the actual weblog entries. The links range anywhere from archives sorted by category, links to favorite websites and daily reads, as well as the standard blog links (i.e. links to her blogging tool of choice, a counter, etc.). While it’s an extremely extensive list, it doesn’t at all clutter the complete layout of the site, which is always a good thing.
So, for those concerned, it’s not just poetry or rhyming or a feeble attempt at an impersonation of e.e. cummings, Robert Frost, or whomever your favorite poet might be. Sharon’s off to a great start with a weblog that’s only been around since January. Her experiment, as she calls it, is one I hope sticks around for a while.
Watermark