Both inspiration and willful exertion bring gifts and weaknesses; neither one is more worthy or more likely to produce art. That said, I’m convinced that an artist who inhabits an extreme on the spectrum at the stubborn exclusion of the other extreme is certain to stumble. The best art-making slides up and down the scale.
From Will to Inspiration: The Creative Spectrum Read More »
Highs in the negative digits. Ice so cold it squeaks when you skate on it. Gwyn pedaling the tagalong with a scarf completely covering her face. Minnesota January: Not for the fainthearted. But it’s perfect for those (like myself) who love hearth and home, who in the glory days of summer dreamt about sorting photos
The Interior Hearth Read More »
Contemplation is our central task as writers, and as human beings.
Message from the Page: “Would you please pay attention?!” Read More »
All these sparks are part of a much brighter and broader light, and we can gather it up from anywhere, everywhere, for the healing of the world.
If genuine, open-hearted engagement is the basic ingredient of the creative process, then we all have the capacity to move a reader.
The Democratic Nature of Writing Read More »
Never have I read a recovery memoir that was so ripping hilarious, emotionally astute, and theologically provocative. Marty was a fantastic writer. He worked on that tome (three volumes long!) for as long as I knew him—over a decade. It was one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever supported.
Marty’s Gift: Better than Publication Read More »
Love is literature’s essential ingredient. If we writers can center ourselves in our love—for the subject matter, for the writing process, for the language, for the readers—then we’ve got it made.
Love Matters Most: My Latest Writing Credo Read More »
How can we contain rather than squander the gifts we’re showered with? How can we nurture our gifts so they thrive?
Containing Land & Spirit Read More »
Perhaps we writers love to write because we love loving, and we intuit that writing exercises this capacity.
Reading and Writing–For the Love of It Read More »
I can’t remember the last time I finished a book, thought to myself, “I will never be the same again,” and began rereading to figure out why. Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond did this to me. What changed? Rohr reframed the story of Jesus—the Christian story—as an invitation for human transformation. Writing this makes it sound