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August 02, 2006

Steven Vincent: Bloggers remember one of their own

Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part II
Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part III
Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part IV

Vincent-C%26F.jpg

Steven Vincent was murdered in Basra, Iraq, one year ago on August 2, 2005, because he went where other journalists wouldn't.

It is fitting to commemorate Vincent's life and death with a blogburst. Vincent had no pretensions about journalism; he jumped into the blogosphere long before most journalists dipped their toes in, and immediately attracted a following among those who shared his curiosity and enthusiasm about the grand experiment of liberating and reconstructing Iraq. He was interviewed by bloggers, corresponded with them, guest-blogged and even participated in bloggy games liketagging. In MSNBC's survey of the blog reaction to his death, it was clear he was considered "one of the family." (I never corresponded with Vincent, but I was invited to his memorial extravaganza at Cooper Union last October because his wife, Lisa, had read some of my posts about him.)

On the first anniversary of his death, some bloggers remember Steven Vincent:

Vincent.jpg

Nick Gillespie of Reason remembers Vincent as one of the magazine's valued contributors, linking to the articles Vincent wrote for them.

Jeff Harrell did a long interview with Vincent which is a good introduction to his personality and values, and remembers Vincent's way with email correspondence.

Solomonia remembers an email from Vincent appreciating his review of the book, and his reaction to the news of Vincent's death:

Vincent didn't, as a rule, travel with the troops. He was mostly on his own, making connections as he went. He was truly at the mercy of the Beast -- a man virtually alone, like a latter day Sir Richard Burton. I admired that. I've had a nagging feeling of dread reading his dispatches. I could almost feel the thumb of fate, of anarchy, of evil -- whatever you want to call it -- poised over he and his guide, "Layla," every step of the way. Could he feel it too? He lived at the sufferance of forces that crushes individuals like insects without even noticing. Every day in country was a tempation of fate.

Josh of The Adventures of Chester:
Steven was an inspiration to me. He inhabits a long tradition of extremely independent observers who have looked upon world-changing events from afar and known that they must, must see them closer and be a part of what is happening. It is a grand tradition indeed -- de Tocqueville, John Steinbeck, Winston Churchill, Marco Polo -- these are but a few of these epic travel writers, who wrote about war, or faraway lands and their transfomations -- all from firsthand experience. I know that I do not exaggerate when I say that Steven's place in their noble numbers is certain.

At the end of that post are links to the guest posts Vincent wrote for Josh. The hopeful ones about the first Iraqi election are the most poignant. (The jibes at Daily Kos and Juan Cole remind me how long both of those blogs have been buzzing around with the same defeatism and misinformation, and how long the rest of us have been swatting them away with the same disgust.)

Speaking of Juan Cole, Murdoc Online - who hosted the original response by Vincent's wife to Cole's tacky speculations after Vincent's death - says:

My thoughts go out especially to Lisa, who I've had the honor and pleasure of emailing back and forth with a bit over the course of the past year. I'm sure that the impending anniversary brings up a lot of things both great and sad, and I wish you the best.
At the bottom of that post are links to 15 more posts Murdoc has written about Vincent, including a long 3-part review of In the Red Zone.

Iraqpundit reviews the Juan Cole mess, and one of his commenters links to other errors by Cole that even I didn't know about.

Robert Avrech also corresponded with Lisa, and wrote about Vincent on the anniversary of the last time Lisa saw her husband alive. He also links to an interview she gave about the Steven Vincent Foundation (see Blogad in the sidebar).

Damian Penny is partway through In the Red Zone and says "I realize what a tremendous reporter we've lost."

Mary Madigan gives several examples of terrorists threatening American journalists, and wonders why our government doesn't do more to protect them.

Andrew Ian Dodge:

As writer and bloggers we need to remember those of us that have died amongst our own. So spare a thought for Stephen and his family on the 2 of August. Raise a glass to the man. I certainly will do so.

Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part II
Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part III
Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part IV

Judith | 08/02/06 at 03:23 PM | Categories: - Power to the People

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Blogs which link to Steven Vincent: Bloggers remember one of their own:

» Steven Vincent: Lisa from Kesher Talk
Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part I Steven Vincent Blogger Commemoration - Part II Lisa sends a pizza: To honor and remember my beloved husband Steven Vincent, the freelance journalist kidnapped and murdered by Islamic fundamentalist thugs in... [Read More]

Tracked on August 2, 2006 09:10 AM

Comments

May God bless his soul and his family.

Paul | August 2, 2006 08:06 AM

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