The small lawn in front of my daughter’s high school is a jumble of sporadically-tended vegetable gardens, a big poorly painted rock, a stick sculpture of a turtle, and a mosaicked wall. Last week on that cluttered bit of land, while students headed to the bus stop and crossed the street to the library, ICE […]
Write or Be Written Read More »
Despite publishing openly and widely about so much in my life, you may notice that I rarely write directly about two things: My Christian faith and my politics. I haven’t wanted these divisive topics to limit my opportunities to be in conversation across difference, something I dearly value. That said, my writing career began with
How do we live in fearful times? Read More »
Four years ago, shortly after Trump’s inauguration, my neighbor slapped a bumper sticker on her car that read, “He’s not my president!” The dismissive, liberal sentiment has rankled me ever since. I was reminded of it two weeks ago, when white supremacists attacked the capitol at Trump’s urging, and the message “This is not who
Working with the nightmare Read More »
We’re in the throes of deep revision and the only way out is through.
Deep Dive into Chaos Read More »
A spark of life or inspiration sounds through us into our creations and sounds through our creations into other living, breathing creations who are also sparks of life and sources of inspiration.
You, Sounding Through Me Read More »
Dillard is more radical than I supposed—radical, that is, in the original sense of “forming the root.” She understands creativity to work at a metaphysical level, transforming the basic stuff of the universe.
Shouting to the Heavens Read More »
Whatever we’re given by inspiration we must augment with effort and then release to move and heal and connect and transform the wider world.
Writers, This Is Our Moment. Read More »
Annie Dillard once said that an unpublished, unread manuscript gathering dust under an attic bed still exerts its influence on the world. Is this true? Can we pin our faith and our work’s worth on this hidden, immeasurable impact?
Unpublished But Powerful Read More »
You’ve got to deconstruct the old to make room for the new, whether it’s a hallway or a soul. Or, in the case of writers, a rough draft. Or, in the case of climate change, old energy dependencies. Or, in the case of a broken democracy, old complacencies.
Repaint! Repent! Revise! Read More »
I wish for us that we can look back at this point in history as a time of spiritual awakening, transformative love, healing reconciliation, and powerful creativity. A time where we collectively went through an evolutionary leap.
How do we frame these times? Read More »