Friday Dispatch: Easing Back In

Some August highlights :)

Sep 01, 2023

Friday greetings,

August was both full and fast, and September promises to follow suit. This weekend, I’ll be seeing both of my kids off for the fall semester as well as leading a pre-High Holiday poetry workshop at our synagogue, and next week, I’ll return to seeing clients old and new! As I overheard my daughter tell my son this morning, “Change is the only constant.”

On Monday, I’ll be sending out another missive with more details about writing groups and workshops either beginning or happening this month, so watch for that! Ebb & Flow is now half-full, so if you are considering whether that group will be a good way to support your writing practice this coming school year, I recommend signing up soon to secure your spot.

For today, by way of easing back in here, I thought I’d share a few highlights.

It’s good to be back!

Shabbat Shalom and love,

Jena

Naturally, let’s start with books.

A few passages that made their way into my journal:

From Pure Colour by Sheila Heti:

"That was why she needed that ugly old seashell; because it was the contour and shape of her insides. It was a reminder of what a human self was, and what a human life was: Not a beautiful glass lamp just this side of being broken, or a lovely gold ring with a single dent in it. But a battered old seashell, formed over millions of years, made to endure."

From The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro:

"I find it reassuring to start from zero each day. I like showing up each morning with the possibility of success or failure, regardless of what happened the day before."

I loved Shapiro’s description of why radio is a fit for him as a creative medium. This passage reflects much of my relationship to writing practice. And of course, I also appreciated this:

"The conversations that help me see the world most clearly are generally not with researchers, policymakers, or so-called experts. They aren't with people journalists crassly call newsmakers at all. They are with artists – especially writers."

From Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout:

"I really thought that."

In the days after finishing this novel, this is the sentence that stayed with me. Something about Lucy's voice, the honesty and even incredulity at the nature of some of her thoughts, touched me. I mean, who doesn't think things and then blink with amazement (or shudder with shame) at their thoughts at times?

Bears!

Multiple sightings of a mama bear and at least one of her very curious babies mean no more bird feeders in our backyard. We are sad about this, as watching all the birds is truly one of our happiest things, but we also want the bears to stay in the woods!

Protecting LGBTQIA+ Youth

Months of organizing and advocacy on behalf of LGBTQIA+ youth continued in August. My most recent piece, The Public Is Not the Problem, appears in today’s Amherst Bulletin. For anyone interested in seeing a comprehensive list of related links, including all of my pieces about this issue, local author and parent Megan St. Marie is generously maintaining an archive on her blog:

https://megandowdlambert.com/protect-trans-queer-kids-a-roundup-of-writing-about-the-crisis-at-arms/