Over my years of teaching writing I’ve had hundreds of people ask me, “Is this writing good enough?” This question shows up in different forms—“Is it publishable?” “Do I have talent?” “Should I keep going?” But it’s inevitable. I’ve yet to work with a writer (or meet any artist, for that matter) who didn’t ask […]
I want to be opened up and marked today. Changed. Colored. I want to be these maple branches against a blue sky for Gwyn when I greet her at school. I want to be so rich in pigment that it seeps into these words and paints your mind. Today I worship a God named Beauty, or, if you prefer, I love how beauty is a source of life. And I love how beauty, like God, can sustain us even when it’s gone.
This morning while reading The Healing Imagination, I came across Ann and Barry Ulanov’s brief description of Vaclav Havel—“A professional of the imagination”—and was filled with longing. That’s what I want to be! “Professionals of the imagination” are what the world most needs now; we need people who can imagine themselves into others’ shoes, who
Looking for Imagination Professionals Read More »
Emily and I recently had one of our two garages torn down (for the sake of more garden) and replaced the hole in our house with a magnificent bay window. The immediate consequences of this project is a house full of dust and a tremendous amount of painting. In my every spare minute I’m sanding
(A big thanks to participants in the Book Binders’ Salon for a stimulating conversation last night about rejection. I’m indebted to you for most of this post!) “Rejections slips,” wrote Isaac Asimov, “however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil – but there is no way around them.” The
Accepting Rejection, Rejecting Acceptance Read More »
The summer I first began gardening, I turned fresh compost into the beds, planted seeds, and watched the veggies grow—those I’d planted as well as an extraordinary number of squash upstarts. I thought those self-starters were wonderful and in a show of democracy accepted the compost’s contribution to my garden. Until squash vines choked out
The first rule of improvisational theater is to say yes to whatever comes your way. When your fellow actor hands you a toothbrush, don’t bring the show to a stop and demand a corkscrew. Say yes. When you accidentally trip over your shoelaces, don’t get flustered. Say yes as though you intended to be clumsy.
Perhaps the kindest—and most instructive—comment I’ve ever received from a reviewer came from Mary Rose O’Reilly, author of The Barn at the End of the World: “I can imagine that [Elizabeth] has spent many hours staring out the window until she arrives at a lived-synthesis of what the great religions and irreligions have to tell
Verbs know how to party. Nouns might be great to look at, but they just sit around. Adjectives inevitably take up your time; adverbs always seem needy; and those innocuous articles are wallflowers. Introduce a lively verb to the crowd, however, and everyone sparkles. Suddenly there’s dancing and arguing and necking behind the sofa. Bring
All Hail the Verb! Read More »
This past week I got a chance to visit with my brother-in-law, a former New York City musician and visual artist transplanted to Taos, New Mexico. Scott told me about a recent meeting of Taos artists where all the attention was directed to drawing more tourists and getting them to buy more art. Scott’s current
Writing as Service Read More »