Reclaiming My Writing (or, This Is Why Your RSS Newsreader Is Blowing Up)

If you’re subscribed to Opus’ newsfeed — which, FYI, is the best way to get my latest posts as they’re published — then you’ve probably seen a recent surge in new posts that might look familiar. Familiar and dated.

I’m currently in the process of gathering together all of my articles, reviews, etc., that have been published on other sites (e.g., Christ and Pop Culture, ScreenAnarchy) and reposting them here on Opus. To be clear, this is not an indictment or criticism of those other sites. (Full disclosure: I’m the owner of Christ and Pop Culture.) However, where those sites’ editorial policies allow it, I’m reposting as much as I can with links back to the original articles along with publication info. (Those other sites have given me a platform, which I’m thankful for and so I want to show my respect and gratitude.)

So if I bear no hard feelings towards those other sites, why am I taking the time — and make no mistake, this process will take time — to do this? Because I researched, wrote, re-wrote, edited, and re-edited those pieces. They’re my words and they should ultimately live on my website. I should be able to take some ownership of them and ensure their ongoing existence if, God forbid, any of those other sites ever shut down. It’s as simple as that.

Again, this is not a criticism of those other sites. I gladly wrote for them in the past and I’ll gladly do so again if (1) they’ll have me and (2) I have good ideas for articles that are relevant for their audiences. But in the end, Opus should be the definitive source for all of my writings, reviews, posts, interviews, etc.

I expect this process to take several weeks, so subscribers to my newsfeed will continue to see an influx of new articles. I hope you read some of them. Though they might be dated by a decade or more, and I may no longer agree with what I wrote back then (or even how I wrote back then), I still claim them and am glad for the opportunities that they represent.