A challenge (LentBlog1)

Anthony Wilson

I am not sure how this is going to turn out. It was something somebody said in response to my recent post about deciding to leave Facebook. Something about Lent and giving things up, which I think is what most people who have even heard of Lent associate it with. Chocolate. Alcohol. All that stuff. So I wondered to myself, What if I took something up for Lent instead?’ Something that would require commitment. Something that would require committing to celebrating, to ruminating, to thinking out loud? This challenge: The LentBlogs is born. (Sundays are excluded in Lent, for they are feast days. Plus, we all need a day off.) I don’t know where this is going. I don’t know where this is going to take me. I don’t know what I am doing. I will be glad for your company.

Published by Anthony Wilson

I am a lecturer, poet and writing tutor. I work in teacher and medical education at the University of Exeter. My anthology Lifesaving Poems was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2015. In 2012 I published Riddance (Worple Press), a collection of poems, and Love for Now (Impress Books), a memoir, about my experience of cancer. The Wind and the Rain, my sixth collection of poems, is available now from Blue Diode Publishing. My current research project, funded by the Foyle Foundation, is Young Poets' Stories: https://youngpoetsstories.com/. This blog is archived by the British Library.

22 Comments

  1. What a great idea, Anthony.

    I’ve been doing 21 Day challenges. In December I was face-down for three weeks following retina reattachment surgery. I’ve now called that one the eyeball challenge. In January, my partner and I did a 21 Day cleanse and reset of eating habits (to offset the impact of holiday excess, and just to see what that would be like; we enjoyed it). In February I took part in a 21 day series of writing activities within my spiritual community. In March, it’s the 21 day workout challenge; I’m now on day 5, enjoying it more than expected. Looking ahead to April, I’m thinking of doing something just a little more daunting. We shall see.

    Looking forward to seeing your LentenPosts.

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  6. Looking forward to your daily blog. I am giving up Facebook for Lent BUT I would never have discovered your wonderful writing if it weren’t for a piece shared by a friend on the dreaded platform.

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  10. I’ll be there, following with interest! And picking up some encouragement to living in other ways as I go… And thinking in other ways… I’m not from a church tradition that ‘does’ Lent so here goes! And I’m intrigued that you don’t have it all mapped out so don’t know where it will lead. Much like life, really! Thank you, Anthony.

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  11. I discovered your blog by blessed, glorious chance and I enjoy it so much. I am happy to join many others in applauding its quality and riches and will greatly enjoy being one of your Lenten companions.

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  12. It is certainly worth a try, Anthony. But not too wordy for this reader, please. I am returning to Janet Morley’s the heart’s time and have signed up for Mark Oakley’s twitter poem a day, for my Lent, and beyond in Oakley’s case. You must know his The Splash of Words? Best wishes, Jeremy

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  13. I’m right here with you. Waiting with interest.
    Fascinated to read other comments referring to Mark Oakley, and specifically The Splash of Words, my great “discovery” of last year, and now a book I give to others.

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