EPTThe previous work was not meant to reinforce stereotypes or single out women based on their interests (i.e. "gamer girls") - after all, this is essentially a fetish and it takes all of what should be lauded in attraction and places it in to a small binary box. "Check if you game" is just as shallow as "check if you have blonde hair" or any other silly distinction people sometimes fall back on.
Unfortunately, I think my poem did reinforce those stereotypes, and that is not my message at all. I would like to think my message is more along the lines of the one I wrote in my very first poem/blog, specifically the 3rd stanza which can be found at http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=283853 if you would like to read the whole thing, but the gist for those who would otherwise miss it is this:
Despite this fail, it's undoubtedly true
Day9 stands as gamer for me and you.
His energy strong and game sense high,
he stands as example for what I strive:
to educate others with tip of pen,
bring smiles to faces and talent lend
to this group of people whom I adore,
TeamLiquid, I'll tell you this and more:
Live life with passion and APM high,
for it is a game, the reward is nigh;
fear not the ladder nor life's little woes,
for even if defeat causes keyboard throws,
know the next match around the corner waits,
so attack with timing, with gamer grace.
I absolutely love the idea that people from across the world can communicate with unabashed passion over games, over the community that has sprung up around them, and, for me, this means that I can attempt to communicate passion over poetry that I find within a game, within the community that surrounds it, and hopefully within daily life.
I feel that the last poem did not do that. It was meant for performance, but I feel that the entire poem will need to be rewritten so as to deal with the complex nature of this world without resorting to tired stereotypes, and for doing that, I am sorry. That poem was atrocious. But from failings we learn. And the only way we know we have a mind is the fact that we can change it. I promise better poetry in the future.
My goal, after all, is to attempt to merge the many worlds in which I find passion into one amazing amalgamation.
My request for anyone still reading is to tell me something you are passionate about. I want to find inspiration, and I want my poetry to accurately reflect what this community feels. I would be honored if you left a comment expressing what this world, this community, means to you.
P.s. Sorry for no poem in this entry, but I had to express this apology before I can write again; there will be more stuff in the future.
With love,
Astyanaxis
