Writers’ Day in the City

Writers need time and stimulation to create. A couple of years ago, our writers group decided to host our own writers retreat. A weekend to go somewhere away from family obligations and routines and write - together and alone, learn from each other, take ourselves seriously. After two years of going to Carolyn’s former step-mother’s beautiful house in the country, we decided to have a day in the city instead. The city being Austin, Texas. We chose four stops and each of us took on the task of creating a writing invitation. 

First stop: Thunderbird Coffee - Esmer had four idea-generating prompts. We took one, wrote our list for one minute and then passed it to the next person. Then we picked one thing from any of the four lists, or something totally different, and wrote for five minutes. The four prompts were:

• Words that remind you of inner power 
• Poem titles
• Memories you would like to download
• Places you have never been

12:01 A.M

Nothing good happens

After midnight

My grandmother always said

The police came knocking on her door

After midnight

With news of a car crash

Driver had been drinking

After midnight

Probably started before

Passenger wasn’t wearing a seatbelt

After midnight

Didn’t have a chance

The driver was

But this time, it wasn’t enough

The tree was too mighty and big

After midnight

The agony of a mother’s loss

The cry of a mother’s pain

Was overpowering and all encompassing

Like the night

After midnight

-Esmeralda

Our next stop was the independent bookstore Black Pearl Books. We did not realize that it is housed in the same location as the wonderful organization Ten Thousand Villages, a shop where artisans from around the world can sell their products at fair prices. Of course, we had to look around! 

Andrea’s invitation for us was to write down the titles of ten books, from any genre. Later we used the words in the titles to generate some writing.

There's a Revolution Outside, My Love.     

There's a Revolution Outside, My Love

We Do This 'Till We Free Us

till A Chorus Rises

till we tase The Sweetness of Water

till we see The Evidence of Things Not Seen

in The Anthropocene Reviewed

differences between us - 

Almost Zero

we Come in All Colors

Life's too Short, Gilded Ones

                -Susan

After lunch we headed to the Blanton Museum. Although Susan had some way for us to be inspired by the artwork in all of Blanton’s galleries, we only had time to visit Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite. We chose one of the pieces to imagine a conversation, either with us or between the subjects in the photos. 

You see me, you see you.

How you see me is how you’ll see you.

My eyes are your eyes.

My hair is your hair.

You see it?

This nose, yours.  

These lips, ours.

I am you and you are me. 

Remember that when you look into 

the eyes, the mind, the heart, the soul, the story 

of somebody who looks like me, looks like you.

If you can see me, you can see you.

And if you can see us, then it won’t matter if they can see us.

See us just as we are

Black. Is. Beautiful

-Andrea

     

 .   

Public school, Harlem, 1966

Males: We are looking to our future, away from our past. We are strong, we are confident in our worth as people, whether others are or not. We are determined not to depend on others to set our own worth or value. We are standing on the foundation those before us have worked so hard to lay down.

Females: We try to look confident and strong, but we are not completely sure who we are in this day and age. We want to stand proud and BE somebody, but we are also products of a society that judges our worth as females in a certain way - a way that doesn’t encourage personal strength or intellectual achievement. Even more, a society that holds black women to another place entirely. How do we navigate the conflicting demands of this modern age: being proud, free, confident, self-reliant, while also avoiding the clutches of the past with its diametrically opposite expectations?

                                                                                                                -Carolyn

Listen!

You ask me

Why am I behind a camera.

Not in front of a march,

Or at a counter,

Or on a bus.

My weapon is my art.

My weapon is my eye.

Through my eye

You will see beauty, 

you will love that beauty

    You will love the skin that wears it

And the heart that beats underneath it

You will love the beauty that is 

Black.

                            -Susan 

We ran out of time and didn’t get to see what Carolyn had planned for us at the Austin Public Library. But no worries! That’s the subject of next month’s post. 

Writing needs time and stimulation to grow. Anything can serve as stimulation - the plants in your house, your children, the sounds outside the window, even the dirty dishes. But time, we must steal time if we have to, even if it's just a few minutes, to make something of our words. 

Twelve Blog Posts of Andrea (#2 & #3)

(TWO)

Artists say, “Let me draw something that might help our understanding, help us change or wake up, be inspired to awe or kindness."

Anne Lamott, Almost Everything

Writers Say

Let me write something that might help us walk in each others’ shoes,

be inspired to love and 

to be better for one another

to be less afraid and more curious about 

our one, fine, glorious life.  

Let me write something which might help us wake up, 

help us see what we could not have seen otherwise. 

Let me write something which will add light 

and life 

and laughter.  

Let me write something to unburden our souls.

Let me write something that shows us another way to walk each other home.

-A Writer's Prayer

(THREE)

Passing by a space recently, I saw several signs with sentiments about being kind- choose kindness; if you can be anything, be kind; kindness matters; kind people are my kind of people. Being described as kind, in my humble opinion, is one of the highest honors one could pay to another person. Reading those artsy, to-the-point signs made me think:

1. Are these declarations, directions or decorations? Is this person kind?

2. Who gets to decide who and what is kind?  

3. What if one’s idea of “kindness” is very different from those around them? What if you describe yourself as kind, but others do not? (Not because you do not have other great qualities but simply because kindness is not the one they immediately think of to describe you.)  

4. Do we think of kindness as big deliberate acts mostly? Acts like donating to charities, giving food to a person without a home, taking in a stray animal, serving at a food pantry.  

5. Do we miss opportunities to be kind on our way to do some big act of kindness? I witness this daily in myself and others. We do not acknowledge the person walking by six feet away from us. Yet ,we share about our whole day with the barista at our favorite coffee shop. We step over rather than pick up trash. Yet we donate large bags of used clothing to charity. We don’t listen completely when a coworker or child speaks. Yet we answer our friend’s call and talk for hours. We turn the other way when we spot someone we recognize at the grocery store. Yet we visit our grandparents every weekend. We hurry our children. Yet we wait patiently for our friends who said they would be dropping by. We ignore our partners. Yet we respond immediately to our boss’ requests to work a little extra. We assume ill-intent  and rattle off discontent when we receive correspondence from corporate entities. Yet we assure the cashier who overcharged us and gave the incorrect change that we get it, they’ve had a long, hard day.

6. How does this person show kindness in their daily life? Could these displays be reminders of a quality this person wants to grow in? I put reminders all around me when I am working on specific aspects of my character or working to improve in some area of my life. Maybe the occupant of this workspace is doing something similar.

Those signs got me thinking, reflecting and asking, “Am I the kind of person who others would describe as kind?”. Maybe that’s why the signs are posted- for us passersby.

-Andrea

New Year, New Books: Reading List 2019

New Year, New Books

Reading List for 2019

I am constantly adding books I would like to read to my Pinterest board, or to my Notes app on my phone.  Coming up with books I would like to read for this 2019 was not difficult. The hard part was narrowing down my selection to twelve.  I figure I can comfortably get through a book a month (hoping for more since I have a back up list ready to go if I do complete my twelve) with all the other “have to do’s” that come up.  

Here is my reading list for the new year in no particular order.  

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella ---Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors.  Her writing is witty and funny! I’ve read all of her books, and I am excited to add another one to my reading arsenal.

“Fixie Farr saves an investment manager’s laptop from being destroyed, meaning he owes her a favor. She cashes in to get her friend a job—all while Fixie and investment hottie Sebastian’s relationship begins to evolve.” (Amazon)

 Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

“After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity–and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution.” (Amazon)

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella-- Here she is again on my list.  I saw it and had to add.

“A story about a married couple who is told they will have 68 more years together, after being married for 10 years, and they panic wondering how they will keep their marriage fresh so they concoct a plan Operation Surprise Me to keep things from becoming boring.” (Amazon)

The Beginning Place by Ursula K. Le Guin--This will probably be my first book of the year.  A friend of mine gave it to me as a gift, and I am looking forward to diving in.

“Irena Pannis was thirteen when she first found the beginning place. Now, seven years later, she has grown to know and love the gentle inhabitants of Tembreabrezi, or Mountaintown, and she sees Hugh as a trespasser.

But then a monstrous shadow threatens to destroy Mountaintown, and Hugh and Irena join forces to seek it out. Along the way, they begin to fall in love. Are they on their way to a new beginning...or a fateful end?” (Amazon)

Save The Date by Morgan Matson--This looks like a fun drama-filled family novel when the main character’s family is all coming together under the same roof for her older sister’s wedding and everything seems to be going wrong.

“Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.  The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.” (Amazon)

6.  Small Great things: Jodi Picoult---A good friend of mine has read every Jodi Picoult book and has said nothing but great things about them. I have read one or two, but would like to make my way down that author list as well.

“Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?” (Amazon)

Girl wash your face Rachel Hollis-- I have this book.  I’ve had this book for a while.  I have read chapter one. It’s not that I don’t like the content or the writing.  The first chapter was great and very relatable. At the end of the day, when I lay down to read, I tend to grab a fiction story where I can escape the stressors of the day behind me.  I don’t typically pick up “self-help” books. I do, however, think this book is more than that. It’s more of a conversation with a friend. One I intend to finish this year.

“As the founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Rachel Hollis developed an immense online community by sharing tips for better living while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own life. Now, in this challenging and inspiring new book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.” (Amazon)

Letters to my daughter by Maya Angelou---  Maya Angelou.  Need I say more.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Maya Angelou shares her path to living well and with meaning in this absorbing book of personal essays.  Here in short spellbinding essays are glimpses of the tumultuous life that led Angelou to an exalted place in American letters and taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude: how she was brought up by her indomitable grandmother in segregated Arkansas, taken in at thirteen by her more worldly and less religious mother, and grew to be an awkward, six-foot-tall teenager whose first experience of loveless sex paradoxically left her with her greatest gift, a son.”

Watching You by Lisa Jewell-- I was a fan of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train.  I read this one had the same page turning, mind blowing capabilities.

“Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.  One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.” (Amazon)

The Lost Girls by Heather Young---Lots of twists and turns, with the past colliding with the future.

“A stunning debut novel that examines the price of loyalty, the burden of regret, the meaning of salvation, and the sacrifices we make for those we love, told in the voices of two unforgettable women linked by a decades-old family mystery at a picturesque lake house.  In 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanishes from her family’s vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. Her disappearance destroys the family—her father commits suicide, and her mother and two older sisters spend the rest of their lives at the lake house, keeping a decades-long vigil for the lost child.   Sixty years later, Lucy, the quiet and watchful middle sister, lives in the lake house alone. Before her death, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to the only person who might care: her grandniece, Justine.” (Amazon)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin -- Lately I have been really into psychological thrillers.  It could possibly be all the Lifetime movies I tend to watch, so this one was right up that alley.

“If you like darker, more intense novels, then you’ll love this psychological thriller. Mara Dyer can’t remember anything that happened the night of the accident that killed her best friends. Even after starting a new school and befriending the sexy, confident Noah Shaw, Mara’s sinister experiences, nightmares, and dark hallucinations continue to unfold in a breath of chilling twists. It’s an enticing read that’s sure to have you up all night.” (Amazon)

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater--This one sounded like a tender story, even if it is about a wolf boy.  I’m a sucker for fighting for the one you love.

“For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.  Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.” (Goodreads)

Happy Reading!!! ~Esmeralda

Writing for Life by Andrea

in-vest-ment

an act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result

In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells a story of three men given various talents (sums of money) based on each one’s management ability and with an implied expectation of a profitable return on their master’s investment.  Two of the three men, immediately invested their talents and doubled what they had been given by the time the master returned.  The third steward, however, was afraid of failure so he buried his talent. The first two were commended.  The last gentleman was condemned as a wicked, lazy servant. His one talent was taken from him and given to the one who earned the most.

Perhaps largely because of this parable, a talent of money morphed into our standard idea of talent: one’s natural ability or skill. The parable illustrates the need for investing one’s talent(s) to yield high dividends and rewards rather than selfishly or fearfully keeping it to oneself.

We all have things at which we are naturally gifted, as well as other things about which we are passionate without regard to ability or skill.  I am not sure if writing is one of my God- given talents, but it is definitely something I desire to do well. For 2014, I set a goal of investing in a talent.  And writing is it! I will no longer bury my desire to write well under a pile of fear.

I have been afraid to put myself out there.  I have been afraid to invest time and energy in growing at this craft. I have allowed myself to think that talking about writing, reading about writing and thinking about writing are enough.  Don’t get me wrong.  I write.  I have written more in the past three years since joining the ladies here at Writing Four Lives than I would have on my own.  I joined the group for accountability, so that I could maintain my integrity as a teacher who pushes students outside of their comfort zone when it comes to writing. I need to be able to experience what the kids often do in order to help them through the challenges.  However, I have not grown as much as I could or should because I have been afraid.  I have not been invested. I have not taken many risks. 

I often tell my students ‘all people are “writers”, but not all people write.’  What I mean in this:  we all have stories to tell, lessons learned that need to be shared, ideas that could shift people’s paradigms, but the majority of us rarely ever write the words down. We think we will not do it as well as someone else.  We wonder if anyone will care about what we have to say.  We worry that the masters of the written word will rain down condemnation.  I have been one of those people.  I have hidden behind intention and writing “only for myself”. 

Instead, I am joining the ranks of the courageous, those who put pen to paper, fingers to keys and live. Investment brings risk. Writing requires vulnerability and trust. Writing is thinking, feeling, being on paper for others to see.  Writing is risky, but it's worth it.  And as they say 'anything worth doing is worth doing well'.

So I have committed to my writing group to post here at least once every four weeks. I must have something to share at our monthly writing workshops.  I will be taking a creative writing course at the University of Texas in the spring.  Before the start of the new year, I made a promise to myself to write for at least 20 minutes every day and I have stuck with my commitment. 

I am investing.  Talent or passion, I am writing for life.