[Bards] Some Answers

[Michael Silverhands]

On Nov 9, 2006, at 7:34 AM, willowjonbardc at juno.com wrote:

> I really like what you had to say. The only problem I have is with the
> Kingdom bard not being an College position. It has been the only
> college position that we have maintained and I am not ready to give it
> up to the Laurels and make it another A&S standard thing. Right now we
> control how it is run if we break it from the College it stop being a
> position for Performer and become a matter of scholarship with
> documentation the major focus. The premier bard is our role model and
> reflects what we think is important. We need to keep control of it. I
> don't see any problem with putting the position back to its honorary
> head that it was before the Crowns started messing with everything.
> the duties inherent in the job are hard enough without having them do
> all the jobs a healthy college would be doing.
> willow
>

With great respect, Your Grace:

"It has been the only college position that we have maintained"
I think that statement could only be true if there were currently a  
college to maintain a position, and clearly there is not. There might  
be a couple of people who still consider themselves members of the  
long-lost college; but that doesn't make a college. Unless... (the  
tiny light bulb goes on...) do you mean a "position that we have  
maintained" in the most recent version of the charter? If so, I can  
see the logic of your statement. Even though it's still kind of moot,  
since there's currently no college to embody that charter. :-/

"I am not ready to give it up to the Laurels and make it another A&S  
standard thing."
I am not aware that "the Laurels" have it, as such. I believe that  
the bards (whether Laurels or not) who volunteer to judge it are the  
ones who set the standards for the Premier Bard competition, with  
guidance from the outgoing Premier Bard.

"Right now we control how it is run"
I don't think so. I think the hosting group and the outgoing Premier  
Bard control how it is run. "We" (and by that I take you to mean the  
College) don't control anything, because the College, for all intents  
and purposes, does not currently exist and has not for 10-15 years.

"The premier bard is our role model and reflects what we think is  
important."
I absolutely agree with this!

"We need to keep control of it."
See above -- we can't keep something (control) we don't currently have.

Besides, if the Premier Bard isn't *our* (the College's) bard, and if  
this isn't *our* competition -- if they are a Kingdom champion, and  
if it's a Kingdom competition -- then *we* (the College) don't have  
any business trying to control it, in my humble opinion. Members of  
the college should certainly volunteer to help run it. And we should  
be out there all year encouraging bardic kingdom-wide, which will  
have the net effect (among other things) of increasing the attendance  
and quality of Eisteddfod competitors. But it's the Kingdom's  
championship, and the Kingdom's Premier Bard -- those don't belong to  
any subset of the kingdom, such as a college of bards.

"the duties inherent in the job are hard enough without having them  
do all the jobs a healthy college would be doing."
Hmmm... the only /duties/ I imagined them having (relative to the  
college) are the "duties inherent in the job" as you put it:  
traveling the kingdom to promote bardic; teaching; "energizing our  
base" of bards who just need some incentive, a flag or hero to rally  
around; and helping to organize the following competition for Premier  
Bard.

However, that being said, completely I agree with you on this point,  
Your Grace. :-)

There are plenty of other "jobs a healthy college would be doing",  
such as organizing meetings, publishing pamphlets and bard books,  
helping event stewards to set up local bardic competitions, etc. --  
but the Premier Bard shouldn't be expected to do that. The Premier  
Bard certainly has plenty to do without taking on any administrative  
duties of a College. That doesn't mean that an officer of the College  
can't be the Premier Bard, or that the Premier Bard can't apply to be  
an officer of the college. Just that they shouldn't automatically  
have to. I withdraw any prior suggestions I made in that direction.

But I *do* agree that they should "automatically" be our hero and  
role-model, and at the very least an honorary member of the College  
as you suggested. :-)

Kind regards,
Michael