i think you may like this as much as i did

This post from Orangette's blog is brilliant. (8.03.11)
She said is just right.
So if you write and...well, that's all you need to do to be able to relate to this post.
Just read it.
And the link she includes of Elizabeth Gilbert speaking at TED is worth following.

your newest addiction

Friends, prepare to take a journey down the rabbit's hole. Really: don't go to this web site if you, say, have to pick up your child in 15 minutes, or you need to pay close attention to something on the stove or you plan on going to bed within the next hour. Don't click on this link if any of those circumstances apply to you.

Wait until you have a couple hours (at least) available, a mug of coffee on hand and your favorite pen with a stack of paper and no one around to distract you.

The Paris Review has made its interview collection available online.*

I've read volume no. 1 and 4 with no luck locating no. 2 and 3. So this feels like, well, it feels like thank you Paris Review.

This is your chance to get into the heads of your favorite writers. Don't miss out.*Based on my limited picking around on the site it seems that the archives are open, free and completely available. Only the most recent interviews are cut off mid-interview with a request for a subscription if you want to read more.

perfect timing

If you are a writer, check out this link.
(That means you, Shannon!)

i am me

I have moved 14 times.

And it is only now, at age 32 after reflecting on this most recent move, that I have realized that I am me wherever I go. For a long time, I thought that moving would change me into someone better, stronger, braver, prettier... morer.

But, the truth is, wherever I go I am still me. With all my strengths and weaknesses. With all my preferences.

Sure, there are some living arrangements that make it easier (or harder) to be the person I want to be. But for the most part, the changes and tweaks that my environments have forced on me have been easily overcome or adapted to.

This is surprisingly reassuring to know. In many ways it frees me to actively grow and change now, rather than wait for better circumstances, for someday. Also, it reinforces my commitment to working on myself (in terms of education, reading, classes, nutrition, exercise, friendships, relationships) rather than working on renovating a kitchen. I can't take that kitchen with me, but I can take my mind and body.

Most importantly, I think this realization helps me understand that if I want to make a change in my life, I can - without moving. For me, moving is sort of a way to push the reset button. Moving = clean slate. But sometimes, I can't move when I want to. Sometimes, I can't move where I want to. And now I know, finally, that if I really want to make changes, if I really want a clean slate, it's got to start with me, not my home.

language arts

This excerpt is from an interview with J. Patrick Lewis:
(the entire interview is here.)

If you were in charge of language arts, particularly poetry, instruction in the elementary grades, what changes would you make, if any, to the way language arts and poetry are taught in schools today?

Pat: At the risk of sounding imperious, I would…

• Ban all “poetry units.” Poetry should be a daily event in every class, not just in Language Arts.
• Encourage poetry cafes where students, teachers, custodians, clerical staff, even parents are invited to share their work.
• Work closely with school librarians to figure out ways of making the library as much of a magnet as the playground.
• Encourage students to write every day.
• Emphasize the supreme importance of strong action verbs, personified verbs.
• Emphasize the unimportance of adjectives and adverbs.
• Share poetry books of all schools, not just the ones you, the teacher, favors.
• Introduce a daily “Metaphor Minute,” wherein students are given a single word and asked to define it metaphorically.
• Applaud students’ failures, embrace them—failure is the only road to success.

you're the boss

Remember when I linked to this list of Keri Smith’s rules to be an amazing [fill in the blank]?  An inspiring list, right?

Well, in all my vanity, I’ve got something to add to it. Just tack it on the bottom: #15. “You’re the Boss.”

When I was largely pregnant, I took a writing class with the amazing Marge Pellegrino. She’d give us an in-class writing assignment and we’d have 20 minutes to complete it. It never failed that before we could even start writing, somebody would ask, “Is it OK if I…?” And Marge would say, “You’re the boss.” And then someone else would chime in, “But what about…”” And Marge would say “You’re the boss.”

Hearing those words repeated, it didn’t take long for me to find a new feeling of ownership with my words (and my life). That doesn’t mean that I don’t look to others for authority to apply in my life. It just means I do it a bit less than I used to.

Recently, I’ve seen how harmful this feeling of not having authority can be to creativity. In my watercolor class many students are interested in having specific rules to follow. I understand this, especially when it comes to learning a new skill. However, this need to be coddled can be harmful when it comes to that really sacred time when we begin something new – whatever it may be.

That first week as I sat painting at my kitchen table I’d think about what a disaster of a painter I am and I’d feel so unsure about what I was doing. But, I wasn’t afraid: of messing up, of making a mistake, of doing something wrong. I knew there was no way I could fail if I just kept painting. The only failure on my part would be to stop painting.

There was a distinct moment when I thought, “Am I following my instructor’s guidelines?” And in the next instant I realized that I am holding the paintbrush, I am making the choices, I am the boss.

At our next class session, it was clear that some students wanted the teacher to be present while they were painting and lean over their shoulder and tell them yes, that’s allowed. No, that’s not allowed! And the problem with that is then the painting isn’t yours. My instructor may as well just paint it. You should just put down your paintbrush (or pen or sewing machine…)  

I must be my own authority. You must be your own authority. It is the only way a person can ever do anything original or creative. Dive into the depths of your soul and make something out of it.

And if you are impatient and don’t want to make mistakes, you may as well not even paint or write or sew or really live. Because we all make mistakes. That is how we grow and learn and become more compassionate and loving. So, I say, get started. Make as many mistakes as possible as soon as possible because time is flying. And don’t you want to become real? Become authentic? After all, you are the boss.