Voice of the OWL is a new online venue that gives the floor to people of a certain age who have something to say, or display. It is also a place to find amusements that tickle the minds and the eyes of those who are living long lives.
OWL is an acronym for Old, Wise and Literate; also a venerable symbol of wisdom. In human terms, an OWL is a person at least 65 years old (64 works too) who is still thinking and doing.
When we launched our website a few months ago we sorted the material at hand into two broad categories: Articles/Stories and Hoots. The first category comprised short pieces that told poignant, heart-warming or insightful stories. Also a couple of well-argued takes on important issues and a mini book review (Reading While Old).
Hoots, being essential to owls and OWLS (to all people actually), was a repository for words and images that make us laugh – or perhaps just smile in wonder: Cartoons, playful drawings, amazing photos; also anecdotes, anagrams, neologisms, one-liners and more could be found here.
Some of our faithful readers have made us realize that our focus has been too narrow, that we need to recognize that OWLS express themselves not only in sentences and paragraphs, but also by making drawings and paintings and sculptures and music. We agree. These modes of expression (and more) deserve to be shown and shared. Hence we have added a new category called: Artworks.
Going forward, we want to invite OWLS everywhere to send us new material. If you have an Article, Story, Artwork or Hoot that you would like to contribute (this is a non-commercial project), please go to the Contact Us/ Submissions page where you will find more information.
If you just like us so far and are interested in following us, you can help build our audience by telling your friends and sending them a link to Voice of the OWL: https://www.voiceoftheowl.com
Now, as always, we welcome comments and suggestions. Our hope is to build a virtual community of readers and content producers who think this project is worth their time.
Please note – Voice of the OWL has a certain outlook and tone – one that is generally upbeat (not to be confused with being sappy or unremittingly sunny). Unquestionably growing older has its downsides. We acknowledge the facts but do not wallow in them. We are not interested in publishing material that is gloomy or whiny.
We do, of course, welcome serious pieces, those that take a hard look at culture and society and politics. Some things are truly awful and thoughtful criticism is necessary and much on the minds of older people. But even when harsh words are warranted, we believe they are best tempered with new insights and hopeful suggestions. To be clear: rants and insults and diatribes are not (according to us) serious pieces.