What Is This All About ?

The writers gathered here have adopted one of the 48 lions that appeared in "The Lions Of Lyon" series on the writing blog Shameless Words. By adopting a lion, the writers have become a member of this new writing circle. The lions have been posted in the sidebars of the writers' individual blogs, accompanied by a poem or piece of prose. Of course, it is hoped that the strength, luck and prestige of these mighty beasts will rub off on their owners! (Keep scrolling down to see the full listings of all members and their lions).

Lion 30 : Words From A Wordsmith

 

Lion 30:

Roary.

Artist behind the lion:

Alain Pouillet (French painter).

Adoptive Owner:

Bonnie at Words From A Wordsmith.

Blog Description:

Bonnie Jacobs is the woman behind this blog, which is run in conjunction with a sister site: Bonnie's Books. This 67-year-old lives in Tennessee in the US and is obviously someone passionate about books and writing. Her sites, which appear to have been launched only five or six months ago, are teeming with wonderful titbits on the craft. The writing is warm and elegant.

Poem or piece of prose inspired by the lion:

I am lion, hear me roar
about things too big to ignore
'cause I'm tired of all the governmental lyin';
the whole world is going mad
and my writing's not too bad,
so I want to be a literary lion!

About the lion's name:

Bonnie says:

"I named him Roary because of his deep, magnificent roar. Hey, he's proud of that roar! The name seemed appropriate when I studied the 'screaming' faces below his feet and felt the power of his roar. Take a look at those faces around the lion's feet. They each resemble the person in the famous painting The Scream by Munch. What do you think? Does Roary need to roar for those 21 faces? Do they need his strength?

I looked up Roary's name online and now I'm wondering if I misspelled it. Under a different spelling (RUAIDHRÍ, pronounced ROR-ee), I found it means "red king" from Irish ruadh "red" combined with rí "king." This was the name of the last high king of Ireland, reigning in the 12th century. Roary is a king, so that fits, since lions are known to be kings. Red? Sometimes his fur looks slightly reddish, in the right light, but maybe there's another meaning. Red of tooth and nail, perhaps? Or tooth and claw, killing to survive on the African savannah."

Roary says:

"This is my version of the story: I let Bonnie think she named me, though I kept whispering "ROR-ee, ROR-ee" telepathically in her ear. I have adopted her version of the name because I don't care how she spells it. What I wanted was an opportunity to roar for justice.

Once upon a time in the land of Lyon, I was an unknown lion waiting for an artist. Taken in by Alain Pouillet, a French painter, I was transformed into the beautiful creature you see in the photo above. Inside my hide, I was still Roary the lion who wanted to roar about the injustice I see in the world. While protecting the people in agony below me, I felt helpless to do more, but I was nevertheless required to stand tall as people admired the artist's work on the canvas of my fur. It was months, nay years, before Bonnie stumbled upon my photo and felt we should become partners in a writing project. I would be able to ROAR like a lion!

When she discovered me, I was known simply as Lion #30. Now I am a literary lion, working with a published writer, ready to roar to protect people in need, like the persons represented by the faces on my pedestal. There are 21 of them, so I have convinced Bonnie to work with me to produce 21 roars: Roar #1 will appear soon on this blog, as soon as I decide where to start in the myriad problems confronting the world today. Wish me luck, fellow lions, and please feel free to suggest subjects for my roars."

11 comments:

L.M.Noonan said...

hi Bonnie and welcome to the pride. I like your helen reddy spoof. I also enjoyed the brief visit I paid to your blog and the greening a blue planet blog. I plan to visit again soon and get through the older posts

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Oh, I'm SO glad someone recognized it as a spoof on Helen Reddy. I was halfway afraid her song had been too many years ago for most people to remember. Thanks for taking a look at my blogs, LMN; I'll come visit your blog today. Eventually, I want to visit and add all the writers of this writing circle to my bloglist.

Unknown said...

"Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the pride
But look how much I gained"....a whole load of liony friends!

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Thanks, Minx, that's perfect!

Bonnie Jacobs said...

With the addition of the lines Minx added to my poem, it seems to be GROWING instead of shrinking to fit within the 48 word limit. Seamus, let's just cut off the original "poem" after the words literary lion and let that be my "official" inspired writing about Roary. I think that puts me at 40 words, officially.

S. Kearney said...

OK, Bonnie. Changes made.

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Thanks, Seamus. Would you please take me off the list of folks who were breaking the rules? I feel like I'm standing in the corner for being naughty or something.

Things are shaping up nicely within our circle, and I am delighted!

S. Kearney said...

Hi Bonnie, you're off the naughty list now. :) I'm also delighted with how things have developed ... lots and lots of great reading to be had here with all these amazing blogs. What talent there is out there.

Bonnie Jacobs said...

How Roary got his name:

I named him Roary because of his deep, magnificent roar. Hey, he's proud of that roar! The name seemed appropriate when I studied the 'screaming' faces below his feet and felt the power of his roar. Take a look at those faces around the lion's feet. They each resemble the person in the famous painting The Scream by Munch. What do you think? Does Roary need to roar for those 21 faces? Do they need his strength?

I looked up Roary's name online and now I'm wondering if I misspelled it. Under a different spelling (RUAIDHRÍ, pronounced ROR-ee), I found it means "red king" from Irish ruadh "red" combined with rí "king." This was the name of the last high king of Ireland, reigning in the 12th century. Roary is a king, so that fits, since lions are known to be kings. Red? Sometimes his fur looks slightly reddish, in the right light, but maybe there's another meaning. Red of tooth and nail, perhaps? Or tooth and claw, killing to survive on the African savannah.

Roary Lyon said...

This is my version of the story: I let Bonnie think she named me, though I kept whispering "ROR-ee, ROR-ee" telepathically in her ear. I have adopted her version of the name because I don't care how she spells it. What I wanted was an opportunity to roar for justice. Today I posted this on my blog : Roary, the Literary Lion of Lyon

Once upon a time in the land of Lyon, I was an unknown lion waiting for an artist. Taken in by Alain Pouillet, a French painter, I was transformed into the beautiful creature you see in the photo above. Inside my hide, I was still Roary the lion who wanted to roar about the injustice I see in the world. While protecting the people in agony below me, I felt helpless to do more, but I was nevertheless required to stand tall as people admired the artist's work on the canvas of my fur. It was months, nay years, before Bonnie stumbled upon my photo and felt we should become partners in a writing project. I would be able to ROAR like a lion!

When she discovered me, I was known simply as Lion #30. Now I am a literary lion, working with a published writer, ready to roar to protect people in need, like the persons represented by the faces on my pedestal. There are 21 of them, so I have convinced Bonnie to work with me to produce 21 roars: Roar #1 will appear soon on this blog, as soon as I decide where to start in the myriad problems confronting the world today. Wish me luck, fellow lions, and please feel free to suggest subjects for my roars.

Roary Lyon said...

All of you are invited to visit my lion's den, The Literary Lion of Lyon. My mate Sophia has delivered our first cubs. Yes, twins!

Roary ^..^ we have two ^..^