'Writers from the Vault', the radio program I host, is always leading me in new directions. No matter what area of research I undertake, the subject of that research invariably throws up one or two writers I have never heard of. In the English language alone, there have been an untold number of people who have taken up a pen, or sat before a typewriter, to write something creative, something new, something that made it into print in either, newspapers, magazines or books.

Often as not, much of their work has fallen into obscurity. Some of it doesn't wear well; styles of writing and attitudes have changed. Things fall out of fashion. Moreover, the digital age and the decline of the printed paper word has added to the pile of books that sit mustering somewhere or are destined for landfill.

On the other hand, worthy online projects like the Internet Archive or Project Gutenberg are reviving many of these old texts and making them available for anyone to read. They have both been a great blessing for my program and have given me hours and hours of material that I can use. I heartily thank all the volunteers who have made this possible. What a labour of love!

In the meantime, I look forward to running into more poets like Sara Teasdale to admire, or writers like Hyman Strunsky to ponder over. I didn't make that last name up, by the way. It's a gem, don't you think?