[Bards] some {more} Notes!

[Michael Silverhands]

On Nov 6, 2006, at 10:43 AM, Alden Drake wrote:

> Magadalia wrote:
>
>> Would having the college again set guidelines for performances?  
>> Would the
>> college encourage new bards? Would the college embrace bards of  
>> all styles?
>> Would the college encourage current bards to branch out into other  
>> areas?
>> Would the college assist people in finding resources?   I could go  
>> on and on
>> in "would the college" but I'll stop for now.
>
> These are difficult to answer in yes/no form.  Here are my  
> thoughts, based on comments people have made thus far.
>
> The College should not be an authoritative body.  ...
>
> The College may encourage newcomers to bardic, but really, I think  
> it should be the people who make up the college who encourage new  
> bards.  But some people will be encouraged by having a collective  
> body they can identify with.
>
> The College should include and support all bardic performance  
> styles.  However, it will be up to the practitioners of those  
> styles to provide support for them, so some styles may be better  
> supported than others.
>
> The College should not directly encourage bards to branch out into  
> other areas, however it should provide materials which will assist  
> bards who choose to do so.  Members of the College may encourage  
> others to branch out, but the College itself should not be  
> perceived to be steering anyone's choices.
>
> The College should definitely help in the area of resources.   
> That's why we're coming together isn't it?  To share knowledge and  
> improve the arts in our kingdom?
>
> ~Alden

Good questions, and good answers. For the benefit of those just  
joining the dialog, I'll quote something that was posted a few days  
ago. (Yeah, I know, quoting myself... how conceited is that...)

On Nov 3, 2006, at 5:49 PM, Michael Silverhands wrote:

> It's vitally important to remember what a college (or, for that  
> matter, any other group within the SCA) is.
>
> It's not some vague group composed of "somebody else", like "the  
> government".
>
> It's *us*.
>
> If the college has a problem, it won't be "somebody else's  
> problem"; it will be *our* problem to fix (or work around, or learn  
> to live with).
>
> So, as someone else pointed out, if you are a bard in an area and  
> that area needs support, don't wait for the support to appear.  
> Don't expect it to, and don't be disappointed if it doesn't. It  
> will be up to *you* (yes, *you*) to see the need and mobilize  
> whatever support there is (*other* bards just like you) to try and  
> address the need.
>
> Sorry if this comes across as redundant or beating a dead horse,  
> but I think it's *critically* important that we all understand this  
> "from the get go". The college/fraternity/whatever won't be "some  
> organization up there"... it will be *us*, the bards of Ansteorra.
>

So, having said that: let me restate Magadalia's questions. I think  
the answers may be self-evident:

>>
>> Would we, the bards of Ansteorra, set guidelines for performances?
>> Would we, the bards of Ansteorra, encourage new bards?
>> Would we, the bards of Ansteorra, embrace bards of all styles?
>> Would we, the bards of Ansteorra, encourage current bards to  
>> branch out into other areas?
>> Would we, the bards of Ansteorra, assist people in finding resources?
>>

Well? Would you? :-)

Michael