RIPENING SEASONS

Background

Ripening Seasons, an intermittent journal of personal perspective, was initiated in February 1995. It began as an experimental form of personal journalism, developed to provide a resolution for two ongoing problems: my constant mail backlog, and the need for a venue of personal expression. Having concluded long ago that I had no use for the competitive ratrace of a typical writer's life, I nevertheless share the writer's urge to be read, and Ripening Seasons has afforded me the perfect outlet.

Generally six pages of commentary, it has been coming out at a 6-8 week frequency, with sometimes a single long essay, sometimes two or three brevities, dealing with anything on my mind: social concerns or personal life passages, but most often seeking the deeper waters. My approach is seldom academic, however. Philosophy should be a matter of how we live, not some ivory tower, mystificating speculation (though I sometimes can't help myself : ).

The name, Ripening Seasons, was chosen to link three central themes as a backdrop: 1) the approaching millennium, 2) the experience of aging, and 3) the archetypal seasonal filter through which life is generally seen, in cyclic (ripening) terms.

Here is a survey of the issues, working backwards, with links provided for those which are on the site [the remainder will have to await the placement of material that seems more important to get on board, as a way of making best use of my time]. An asterisk (*) after the issue number indicates that it has been indexed, in the theme quadrant: