Dilettante
A "D" Entry for The A-Z of Unusual Words Challenge
Dilettante: a person who cultivates an area of interest without real commitment or knowledge, a dabbler in the fine arts
My Connection: I enjoy a visit to an art museum as well as the occasional spectating of performance arts, but I’m definitely not a dedicated student of the finer things in life. I feel like I can appreciate them but I’ll definitely never experience them in the way a committed expert does. Even as a writer I’m definitely more of a simple storyteller than a creator of literature.
My Poem:
I wonder if other people can see
I’m a bit out of place and not at ease
Some sort of intruder, an imposter
I’m not a devotee but a dabbler
Just a part of the general public
I’ve got my bookshelf of half read classics
My one art history course freshman year
An acquaintanceship with William Shakespeare
Though most of our meetings were in a park
As for photography I’m in the dark
Spent a night or two at the orchestra
Though I’ve never been to an opera
Unless you count the one with the Phantom
It’s not my first time in a museum
But at the ballet I became sleepy
And the film noir stuff was kind of creepy
Not a robust resume I admit
Yet the framed faces don’t seem to mind it
Just go and ask the portrait gallery
They all seem to welcome the company
Of a grateful gazer seeking shelter
On an afternoon of rainy weather
Author's Note: This piece was created for Penny Fuller's The A-Z of Unusual Words Challenge. Check out the details in the story linked below.
And if you’re interested in participating in creator hosted challenges, check out my unofficial challenge for poetry and microfiction linked below:
About the Creator
D.K. Shepard
Character Crafter, Witty Banter Enthusiast, World Builder, Unpublished novelist...for now
Fantasy is where I thrive, but I like to experiment with genres for my short stories. Currently employed as a teacher in Louisville.
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Comments (30)
I love how the word dilletante makes being a dabbler sound so much more elegant and je ne sais quoi.
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Such a relatable reflection on feeling like an 'imposter' in the world of art and culture! I love how it embraces the beauty of just appreciating, even if we’re not experts. The portrait gallery line is wonderfully comforting. Great work
🎉 Congratulations on hitting Top Story on Vocal! 🏆 Your hard work and creativity truly shine through, and it’s so well-deserved! 🌟 Keep up the amazing storytelling—this is just the beginning of even more success! 🎈📖🙌
Great word! I relate a little too much with this one, lol. Congrats on your TS.
Congratulations! on Top Story
awesome
a lovely write up, great work and congratulations👌
The dabbling dilettante. Sounds like a name for TV programme or series of books! Loved this and I think dabbling is the best way. Loved the tone of this too. What is it they say? "Know something about everything and everything about something." Sounds like a plan to me.
Congrats on TS🎉🥳 I loved this piece. It took us through all sorts of art from an art museum to the theater.
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Wonderfully and intricately whimsical.
I enjoyed your poem so much!
Wonderful and definitely relatable. Congrats on the TS.
Beautiful poem!
Back to say congrats on Top Story, DK!!! 🎉
Yayayayay! Congrats! so glad this got Top Story, DK!
Lovely sounding word & delightfully rhyming poem😊. The main thing is that you enjoy dipping your toe into those diverse interest areas.✅
Loved this so much! Beautifully done.
Ooh, thank you so much for the new word! I suppose I, too, am a dilettante...just an ordinary dabbler, hehe! The poem was so fun - enjoyed this thoroughly!
Interesting AND I learned a new word! Thanks DK!
Beauty, as I like to say, is in the experience of the knower. As an autodidact, I dabble in everything and commit to nothing. That experience is the teacher, and whatever crosses into the landscape of our experience is just today's lesson. It's great that there are academics who focus on specifics--they do us dabblers a great service when they offer us a well-researched tome summarizing things in which we only have a passing interest! We are not opposed, but links in a chain of knowledge and inspiration, which creates beauty... beauty in the experience of the knower! Well-wrought!
I love this! Cheers to being a dabbler!
That word seems like a pretty name for a girl! I loved it's meaning and your poem!
DK I loved the dabbling of different art forms you mentioned and I really identified with the explanation on how you feel like you're more of a simple storyteller than a creator of literature!! I feel the same about myself!! 😁