A New Year

A new year. A new beginning. Happy 2013 to everyone. Life is always in a state of flux, so I'll set the stage by incorporating what has happened in my life with Chaucer since my initial posting.
     First, let's look at the name of this blog. Chaucer ain't like gospel  means  that whatever has been said, in the last 200 years or so of literary criticism regarding the poet and his works, is all subject to question.  After all, we are dealing with human opinions, not with religious inspiration. That shakes out the dust from Chaucer studies. It encourages us to explore new possibilities--but always with a solid foundation. We don't have to express our thoughts in academic jargon, but we must build fact upon fact.
     Why should you value my new opinions? Well, partly because I've enjoyed promoting Chaucer and researching and writing about Chaucer for 30 years. There were many exciting moments, surprising discoveries I'll tell you about. Sometimes a sudden insight was so amazing, I thought I'd burst!
     My intention here is to add a post once a week. In the meantime you can check out the website CelebrateChaucer.com for pictures of our festivities over the years, and see a variety of articles I've written--from spicy to serious to just plain astonishing. In addition, on YouTube you can see an uploaded presentation called Chaucer: what is hidden in the Canterbury Tales.
           http://youtu.be/20MzPHFmgSA
It is a taste of the engaging ideas that lie ahead.
     That's it for now. Until next time, Celebrate Chaucer!