Ever heard of the PANDA ANT? This adorable creature may not be welcome at picnics, but with his black and white fur, he is certainly unique.
How about the SPELUNKING SNAIL? His official name is Zospeum tholussan, and he lives deep in a cave in a cave in Croatia. He moves only a few millimeters in a week, breaking the land-creep record.
Did you know this fungus, found growing on bamboo, has properties that treat arthritis? It’s been known in China for centuries but was just recognized as its own species.
These are just three of hundreds of newly discovered living organisms that share our earth. Amazing, isn’t it? Scientists tell us there are more than two million known species of animals, plants, and microbes on planet earth. Incredibly, each year they discover new ones—in the extreme depths of the oceans and on all five continents, in caves, on savannahs, in forests, and even living in the ice of Antarctica. In 2019 alone, researchers announced the discovery of seventy-one hitherto unknown species of plants and animals, including seventeen fish, fifteen geckos, eight flowering plants, six sea slugs, five arachnids, four eels, three ants, three skinks, two skates, two wasps, two mosses, two corals, and two lizards.
The earth is a treasure of biodiversity. Each living thing, each culture, each individual human being, has its place in the grand scheme of things—a gift to be nurtured, protected, and celebrated.
In the writing universe, there is rich diversity as well—poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction. Fiction writers produce short stories, flash fiction, novellas, and full-length novels in a variety of genres: romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, cozies, science fiction, horror, paranormal, magical realism, graphic, historical, fantasy, fable, chick lit, literary fiction, children’s literature. I’ve missed some, I know, but you get the picture. These works of the creative mind are made available to readers through traditional publishers, small presses, self-publishers, hybrids, e-books, audio books, and hand-written and self-illustrated stories treasured and saved by mothers all over the world.
This week on Miss Demeanors I’m celebrating the diversity of the writing world by highlighting a few of the writers and forms I know and admire.
What forms of writing do you most admire?
Do you read outside the genres in which you write?
What are some little-known treasures you’ve discovered recently?