Bummer news today… I’ve been looking forward to local poet extraordinaire, Daniel Edward Moore, joining the WOWI Team with the official re-debut of the podcast. Daniel politely messaged me and said he had to decline.
Sadly, this also means we never got to find out what his favourite beverage is to list on his host profile page. Oh well!
But Why?!?
Daniel his thoroughly involved in his writing and the local poetry scene. Previously (and currently?) he has hosted a regular poetry workshop at the Oak Harbor Library. He informed me that he has teamed up with another gentleman with the intention to start a monthly Whidbey Island poetry reading event. Who knows — once it has some legs on it, that could be a great subject for a WOWI interview. In any case, CONGRATULATIONS GUYS, with your involvement I’m sure it will go great — and I’d like to know about when it’s going to happen, too!
So what does this do for the WOWI Team?
When co-founder co-host Tom Trimbath moved on from Writing On Whidbey Island, he made a few suggestions for the future of the show — adding to my own ideas. While I thought to recruit a small team of co-hosts, he suggested balancing the show between male and female personalities. In a way, this seemed kind of odd to me, however it also made sense. So …
Writing On Whidbey Island will be looking for a new co-host to add to the team. So far, all of my new recruits have been past guests. While this takes a lot of work out of the ‘talent search’, I don’t view this as an absolute requirement. I have added a page to the WOWI site detailing what I look for in co-hosts. To be entirely frank — with Lauren and Sarah already on board — I will be looking for another gent to join us, and (this may also seem odd) preferably one who lives on the northern half of Whidbey Island*. This may be conducted as a ‘lazy search’, taking time to find the right guy — and at the same time, if a fellow contacts us and something goes together soon… all the better.
* If you get the position, this will be explained later.
Best of luck to everyone going forward!
~ Don
D.E. Moore Links
Author Website, Profiles & Social Media
Books
As you have surely heard by now, there are a few changes coming up with Writing On Whidbey Island. One chapter has come to a close, and a new chapter is beginning … with a little time off in between. Tom Trimbath has moved on from WOWI, giving the show (the joy and all of the responsibility that comes with it) to me, and the “show must go on!” While re-debut of WOWI is planned for Fall 2023 … an interim podcast session was recorded in June where the question was asked, “Is AI-OK?”
Spring and summer is a doubly busy time for me. It’s the busy time in the bagpiping world, and I do seasonal work as a SCUBA diver. Taking on the whole of WOWI came at an awkward time. Historically, Tom did the heavy lifting during this season – so this constituted the show taking a break. The plan has been – and still is – for the show to re-launch this Fall. And this “Is AI-OK?” session launches … NOW!
Nearly four years ago, Tom and I took action on a somewhat thought out semi-crazy idea. We met at a park in Coupeville, WA, and hiked down a winding dirt path to the beach below. We sat down on some rocks, and I fired up my recording unit. What followed — in addition to the sounds of waves, seagulls, and local jets — was our first two Writing On Whidbey Island podcast episodes.
Nature photographer, author, and presenter Amy Gulick kindly took a recent afternoon for a WOWI interview with Tom and myself. Having spent time in Alaska studying the ecology and wildlife, she has made sense of the heavy sciencey-stuff and presents it in her books, such-as “Salmon In The Trees”.