I read something this morning that was so much YES for me it drove me to actually update this dusty old blog.
Dawn Raffel talks about fear and writing, what keeps us from the page, in this short piece, “Writing Well Will Cost You,” at the Jaded Ibis Productions site:
“Writing well is a destabilizing act. A comfort read reinforces the readers’ and writer’s mutually agreed-upon ideas of how the world works, and it has its place; it’s entertainment. But literature challenges our fondest beliefs — about the world, about other people, about ourselves. It is mind-altering. Its creation transforms the writer, however subtly, and every revision is a revision of the writer’s intellect, the writer’s memory, the writer’s relationship to self.”
You can read the rest of her article here: “Writing Well Will Cost You”
Speaking of fear, I’ve actually written some things, sent them out, and had them published in 2013. This one, “Come Loose and Fly Away” in the new SalonZine, felt scary to write and send out to the world. It’s harder and darker than most of the stuff I write, but I’m glad I wrote it and thankful to Sara Lippmann, who solicited the work, for publishing it. The whole issue is so strong. Here is what Sara & Nita Noveno said about the theme of SHAKEN that they chose for the issue:
The original idea for this issue of SalonZine came soon after the 2011 earthquake in Japan, a magnitude 9, and the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900. This past year, the destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy, the Connecticut school shootings, and other seemingly endless gun-related tragedies have shaken us to the core. In our unsettling world lives change in an instant, only to become irrevocably defined by that which cleaves. How does one come out of such terrible loss? How do we deal with the worst? The unexpected? The inevitable?
The writers and poets in this issue respond to these questions. Their prose and poetry address things, people, and events that move us, make the ground beneath us tremble, the heart in our cages quake. They excavate the fault lines of before and after.
We’re honored to share their findings with you.
Anyway, go read. There’s powerful, unsettling work there from Len Kuntz, Rae Bryant, Erika Dreifus, Michael Cooperman and more.
Your story gave me chill bumps. I haven’t read anything that affecting in a long time.
Thank you, Charlotte, both for reading and for the kind words about my story.
Kathy – your story will haunt me for a long time. Brilliant work. Well done!
Oh, Mary, thanks so much for reading & commenting!
Wow, Kathy. What a stunning piece of writing. I have chills because it rings so true and real. Beautifully done!
Oh thank you for reading, Patricia!