Homage to Henry – Welcome to 2deepgeek

When I began the work of writing on a daily basis more than 35 years ago, I penned an inscription in my journal from one of my tutelary spirits, Henry Thoreau. The quote from Walden revealed something about Henry’s approach to the work of writing, along with a wry sense of the scale of its rewards:

For a long time I was reporter to a journal, of no very wide circulation, whose editor has never yet seen fit to print the bulk of my contributions, and, as is too common with writers, I got only my labor for my pains. However, in this case my pains were their own reward.

Henry began his journal in 1837 with a bow to his own mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

'What are you doing now?' he asked. 'Do you keep a journal?' So I make my first entry today.

I count Emerson among my tutelary spirits, too. So it seems fitting as I launch this new venture to begin again by remembering the words of these writers who have influenced me so deeply. I will have more to say about both of them. I have enjoyed asynchronous, place-shifted conversations with them for decades, and I know they will join me in the conversations conducted with this blog. Dear Reader, I hope you will join me, too.

For a digital text of Walden on the web, check out the Project Gutenberg edition:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext95/waldn10.txt