Thoughts on BOLO

We are truly lucky, in Ottawa.

We live in a great city, filled with beautiful sights and plenty of things to do, whether you are two years old or 102. We have theatre, we have art galleries. We have musicians that warm the heart and soothe the ears, no matter what your taste is. We have restaurants and pubs, and breweries.

And we have writers. Some, we call authors and poets; others, we call bloggers. And all of them are highly talented.

I am humbled to be included in this fine group of artists—and make no mistake: we are artists. We take our thoughts and raw materials—words—and we mold them and blend them until they take a shape that, when you read them, they convey those thoughts.

On Tuesday night, I had the honour of joining nine Ottawa bloggers at Christ Church Cathedral for Blog Out Loud, as part of the Ottawa International Writers Festival. The room was small but it was packed. Our audience spilled into the next room. One of the area's longest-running bloggers, Dani Donders, hosted the event with style and charm, making everyone in the crowd feel at ease.

The storytellers (that's really what we are) spoke with passion and emotion. We laughed. We cried. We reflected.

You can read more about the event from the BOLO blog.

One thing I have learned in the four years that I have attended BOLO is that these fabulous writers are not afraid to put themselves out there, to show their audience who they are and the life that they have lived, the experiences they have encountered. They get personal. They open themselves wide and lay their hearts out.

And the audience accepts them.

I am lucky to be considered a part of this group, these artists. I am lucky to know these people and to be able to share in this event.

If you haven't come out to BOLO, do so next year. Because we are truly lucky, in Ottawa.