Thoughts About Writing

In the throes of a global pandemic, it’s good to remember the best of spring. Budding and blooming flowers and foliage. Thawed lakes. Windows thrown open. And, it’s National Poetry Month. “Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits,” so says Carl Sandburg. I agree.

What better way to start the day than a cup of coffee/tea, a biscuit? and a poem. The poem-a-day site is free nourishment for the soul. Check it out here: https://poets.org/poem-a-day

All of us have discovered something true about ourselves as we spend our days cooped up with kids, parents, roommates, partners. What’s your truth this week?

I’ve discovered I need a long walk daily—something I haven’t done as much since our chocolate lab died. I put the earbuds in and press shuffle. This song, Pain by The War On Drugs https://music.apple.com/us/album/pain/1242366660?i=1242366668 I first heard on a drive up to a Night Sky Park in northern Michigan to see the aurora borealis. It resonates in this time of uncertainty and sadness but also feels hopeful.

One of my favorite writers, Lily King, has a new book out. Writers & Lovers tells the story of a young woman struggling to become a writer while grieving the death of her mother and trying to keep a roof over her head. “I think it’s extraordinary that you think you have something to say,” her landlord tells the narrator in the opening pages. What writer hasn’t either been told this or has it on a continuous loop in her head? Here is a craft piece King wrote on LitHub explaining how she came to write this particular book at this particular time https://lithub.com/lily-king-craft-newsletter/

Be safe. Stay home. Write on.

Xo Robin