Friday 17 February 2017

wood s lot


I was sad, but not surprised, to read of Mark Woods' death this week. As I posted some while ago, it was clear something was up, when such a diligent blogger fell abruptly silent.

I didn't know Mark, though we did exchange a few emails, and he was kind enough to feature a few of my pictures over the years on his amazing and long-lived blog, wood s lot. But, on the basis of his judicious daily samplings from and links to the data-hose that is the online world, it was impossible not to form a strong impression of his personality. I felt I knew him – as, I am sure, did thousands of other regular readers – and yet, he never wrote a word of his own.

Above all, I learned from him. Artists and writers I would never have discovered for myself appeared on wood s lot every day. Every day! Debates and discussions I would never have had the engagement or patience to follow for myself were presented in thoughtfully filleted extracts, taken from online journals and forums I had never encountered. I cannot imagine how he found the time or kept up the enthusiasm, but he did. Every day.

He will be missed, and he will be remembered by those who followed his tireless curatorial work. Which is an extraordinary achievement in this churning world of ever-shortening attention spans.

5 comments:

Sangdalen said...

Thank-you for your comments on Mark's passing. I feel like I have lost a great teacher. Like you, he introduced me to many artists, writers and philosophical view points. He will be greatly missed. I hope that a complete archive of his work can be assembled.

Joe Nicaragua said...

Thank you I also miss his page. The archive links are not working for me, are you able to open them? Joe.

Mike C. said...

No, I get a quick glimpae, then they're gone. Looks like someone needs to sort out the coding? Shame, there's a lot of good stuff hidden in there.

Mike

Unknown said...

Mark's blog is back up and has a more complete archive. It was down for a few months I think. It is a joy to visit random dates in the archive.

http://web.ncf.ca/ek867/wood_s_lot.html

Thanks to whoever is responsible for maintaining the website.
If there was a place to donate I would.

S

Mike C. said...

Thanks, unknown "S", I'll check it out, and possibly do a post to alert any of my current readers who were wood s lot enthusiasts.

Mike