Wendell Berry: the butt in chair method of writing — #WritingCommunity #amreading

One of the ways my partner and I have been staying connected during this time is through video chatting — with others as well as with each other. This week we met with a small group with our Unitarian church that is focused on poetry. Actually one member of the group is someone we know from way back when who was in a feminist writing group I was in. Another friend brought this poem to share. Since it has to do with writing and it talks about the sit down and be quiet method that I’ve espousing for decades, I thought I would share it with you. It was penned by Wendell Berry.

How to Be a Poet

BY WENDELL BERRY

(to remind myself)

i

Make a place to sit down.

Sit down. Be quiet.

You must depend upon

affection, reading, knowledge,

skill—more of each

than you have—inspiration,

work, growing older, patience,

for patience joins time

to eternity. Any readers

who like your poems,

doubt their judgment.

ii

Breathe with unconditional breath

the unconditioned air.

Shun electric wire.

Communicate slowly. Live

a three-dimensioned life;

stay away from screens.

Stay away from anything

that obscures the place it is in.

There are no unsacred places;

there are only sacred places

and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.

Make the best you can of it.

Of the little words that come

out of the silence, like prayers

prayed back to the one who prays,

make a poem that does not disturb

the silence from which it came.

To learn more about my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (published by Adelaide Books New York/Lisbon),click here.

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Why Write?— There’s no time like the present —#amwriting #writingcommunity

Writing is a process of going inward. This critical moment of history presents us with the opportunity to go inward.  As I recently said to friend who loves her characters but has abandoned her writing — all she has to do to spend time with her beloved characters is to listen to them and to write down what they have to say and the time to do that is now.

There are plenty of ways and reasons, that our society does not encourage us to go inward — especially to reflect and write down what we think. This could be dangerous.  If we do this, we may encourage others to do the same.  Besides, does anyone really profit from us when we go inward? Yes! We do!

The path to publication can be long and arduous but whether or not to publish is something you can decide to later. Personally, I never start writing because I want to publish.  I embark on a new project because I am curious and need to know more.

 

There are many reasons to write. I wrote a few down in a list that I will share with you:

— To understand ourselves better and to understand others more by expanding our empathy.

—To remember important things and people like our parents and our other ancestors —
And to preserve them for ourselves and also to pass along the stories to others   (including grandkids).

—To become stronger.

—To have a sustained experience of the joy of discovery.

—To let out the devil.

—To stay in the goodness.

—To tell the stories that haven’t been told.  (There’s a good chance that only we can tell     them.)

—It’s cheaper than therapy.

—It can help others.

—It’s an amazing way to pass the time!

 

To learn more about my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (published by Adelaide Books New York/Lisbon), click here.

 

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