It’s been a while since the last big update and quite a lot has changed. First off, you may have noticed that the site is looking visually cleaner; I’ve made sure that each poem has an image and the page format is now symmetrical—it was looking a bit jagged before. I’ve also done a bit of back-end work that will eventually make counter/field easier to find on the internet.
We’ve recently passed 400 subscribers, so thank you to everyone who has signed up. It’s been very pleasing to see that counter/field is enjoyed by people from around the world and I thought you might like to know what the top 10 countries are in terms of visitors:
And this is a broader spread:
The USA accounts for half of all traffic, but has a large population so that’s hardly surprising. More surprising is the fact that I have (slightly) more readers in India than in my home country of Australia. Thank you, India! I have a feeling that Australia’s going to make a comeback, though.
If you’ve been following along, you’ll have noticed that the field of poems has shifted: lately there have been a lot of pieces with observational, stillness, or lyric characteristics—in other words, light pieces. Voigt’s ethic of clarity in observation is alive and well in these poems: Molly the dog, the guy inhaling NO2 and even the ‘Miami Magic’ label from the “Chasing Clouds in the Burrow” collage are all real, as is the praying man from “After the Storm”. All I do is write them down.
These poems stand in contrast with older pieces, which explored darker themes involving voice fracture and repetition. I’ve now started a cycle back towards the dark side of the field, so if that’s what you like, there is more of that on the way. I like both ends of the spectrum, so don’t be surprised if I mix it up a little.
On that note, I’ll be moving into new territory in different ways: shifting from balance and restraint towards risk in sentence structure and voice. I’ll also turn up the strangeness and emotional voltage—pieces are likely to become stranger and darker, but also more supple and varied as I explore making voice shifts within poems. I’m personally looking forward to it.
Speaking of the dark side of the field, some older pieces will be receiving a bit of attention in coming weeks. They have different weather from the stillness pieces: stormier, foggier, eerier. Some readers may remember these pieces from the earlier, recursive, period of the blog. I’m going to rework the best ones, poems like In Denpasar, Government Brain Serums and Forget Me Not. Some of them may be travelling outward to journals but all will eventually make their way home to counter/field.
Well, I think that covers everything. In closing, I’d like to thank new readers and old, wherever you may be, and I hope to see you on the blog.
Cheers,
Stef.
…
…
Latest poem: West End Tryptych
…
