Talk:Floyd Skloot

Infobox

I think that an infobox would enhance this article. MaynardClark (talk) 23:36, 7 June 2015 (UTC)

Infobox is added now, in May or June 2017. It could use a photo of Skloot at the top of it. --Prairieplant (talk) 07:52, 21 June 2017 (UTC)

Reasons to leave the reviewer quotes in the article

One editor took out the reviewer quotes from the Career section of this article. Part of the reason to keep them in the article is that these review articles explain the notability of the person Floyd Skloot for inclusion in Wikipedia. Simply listing his writings is not providing evidence of notability, that is, that other people are noticing him and his works.

In this article his illness is described as injury to his brain, but I came to know his books because he had received a diagnosis of M.E./CFS and had been in clinical trials for the one medication that has helped some people. It was a proper trial, and he was receiving the placebo. I get that information directly from his books, and from articles written about him for the community of people with M.E./CFS. The sources that wrote about his initial diagnosis are not formal journals, rather the magazines or newsletters for groups supporting people with M.E., so I never used them as sources here. At any rate, I hope that the editor who made so many changes to the text of this article will leave the book reviews in place, aware of why they are important. --Prairieplant (talk) 05:45, 23 June 2017 (UTC)

Changes suggested by subject of the article

Thanks for your response and for all this clarifying information.It helps me understand what happened, and what a wikipedia page is (and is not). As my wife and I talked about all this, we kept coming back to that "Early Life and Family" entry, which offended both of us. Would you be open to revising it so that it's accurate and doesn't draw inferences about personal relationships. Specifically, the passage now reads: "His first marriage ended at that time; his new self attracted a second wife. He is married to painter Beverly Hallberg." But the facts are that my first marriage did not end at the time I got sick in 1988. And it is not accurate to say the "his new self attracted a second wife," since we knew and caredd for each other for many years before we married. Nor is it accurate to describe my wife as a painter, although for a few years she did paint. If anything, she might be referred to as a birder. AND this level of personal detail is not needed. If we could correct that, I would be very grateful.

I believe you're saying that I should use the Talk section to suggest additional reference material, and I can do that over time. The other issue I had was in regard to the final sentence in the opening statement, where the final sentences say my poetry is published in literary magazines. I believe this is misleading since it suggests that's the only place the poems are published. I have published 9 books of poetry including poems that have appeared in general interest magazines (Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Utne Reader) as well as literary magazines. So I'm wondering if it's possible to change or delete that sentence.

Thank you again. Fskooter (talk) 18:06, 27 June 2017 (UTC) Floyd Floyd Skloot

Fskooter I moved your comments to the Talk page of the article, where any editor can see them. I do not have In the Shadow of Memory at hand, but I recollect the second marriage being described roughly that way. I was also under the impression that your first marriage ended after you became ill. The sentence in the article now is vague as to year; would it be accurate and still vague to say your first marriage ended in the years after you became ill? In that book, you described your wife as a painter, but her name is enough if she is no longer a painter. --Prairieplant (talk) 09:31, 29 June 2017 (UTC)

Thank you, Prairieplant. I appreciate that. What I'm hoping is that you don't feel it's necessary at all to mention the end of my first marriage. The fact that I married Beverly would seem to be enough, and to imply that at some point my first marriage ended. It wasn't connected to my getting sick, though it happened in the years afterward. And Beverly and I would be very grateful to see "Painter" go away, and to just include her name. Thanks again. Fskooter (talk) 16:27, 29 June 2017 (UTC)Floyd Floyd Skloot

Fskooter I guess this is difference between being you and writing about you. Your daughter is mentioned in this article, famous in her own right, and she is not the daughter of your present marriage, so it would be confusing not to mention your were married before. The name of your first wife is unknown, so that is not there. Having had your past does not, in my view, lessen in any way your present. Further, few people who have been so challenged by disease and disability have succeeded in both their healthy life and their life after illness struck. I do not diminish the disability, but try in my awkward fashion to make the point that your successful writing career is made more notable (that Wikipedia concept, also my concept) by your second marriage. I need to find a published source that is not just a support group newsletter for this, but among people struck by serious chronic, disabling disease, marriages falling apart is known to be too common, though sad. Successful second marriage is rarer. These are parts of you that matter as much as your writing. So I will mention that you were married before. --Prairieplant (talk) 08:20, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

Prairieplant. Thanks for your kind words and for making the revisions that you made. In the coming weeks I hope to send you a few links to reviews. I've included excerpts on my website for each book and also for overall comments about my work, so I can use that as a starting place. Fskooter (talk) 17:02, 4 July 2017 (UTC)Floyd

Fskooter That would be helpful. I have marked places as When, as the year of the Honor or Award happened helps in finding references for each one. I found citations for some of those on line, and have added in line citations (that is, a reference that shows as a number in the finished text, corresponding to an entry in the References), which are so highly valued by Wikipedia. If I know the year of an award, then I have a better chance of finding the information for the citation. Slowly the article's quality can be built. I hope some of the editors who worked on it in past years come back to help on this. --Prairieplant (talk) 22:46, 5 July 2017 (UTC)