Looking, & looking again
Devotion as a closer look; art dates; upcoming workshops
I’ve been both vexed by & drawn to the impulse to take stock of another year. It was a year of making it all up with no map but the storied legacies of artists before me who created a life beyond inherited structures. I think often of Toni Morrison’s note on “..Not paying close attention to what others thought my life should be like” & Audre Lorde’s “If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” But to live this way demands ongoing practice and unlearning.
It’s been a time of trying to show up better for the people I adore amidst ongoing genocide, despair-inducing news, and how expensive it is to be a person. I’m grateful for the support of brilliant beloveds, and examples across history of devoted people confronting horror and staying in the struggle even without end in sight. Among resources to fortify my spirit in this time (highly recommend making a list like this for yourself/ with loved ones), I’ve added to my listening list Paul Robeson’s testimony before the Senate in 1948 in opposition to the Mundt-Nixon Communist Registration Bill. That link will take you to Another World Archives: “a people’s archive about art and culture in the struggle to build and imagine another world.”
2025 was the year I brought my first book into the world, a dream I’ve had since childhood. I read from We Contain Landscapes in 12 different cities and received notes about my debut that made my head and heart spin. Thank you to every reader.
There’s much to digest & much I want to do better. And while the energy of reinvention has long appealed to me—having inherited many ossified ideas about how to be a person—at the same time, I am moved by what is core in people. Not unchanging, but like a stone in the river. The current leaving its mark after many seasons. Smoothing surfaces, one day to silt. I’m grateful for another year of getting to be here at all.
~
One of my jobs is as a Museum Guide at the Chazen Museum of Art. The tours we create ask visitors to sit with just 3-5 works of art in an hour with us. With each piece, we look closely, make observations, pose questions, discuss. I’ve noticed how challenging it can be for people of all age groups to truly observe and name what they see, before trying to interpret the work or expressing an opinion. The mind seems to jump readily to whether or not we like a thing, or what it might mean. I ask people to look, then look again. To step closer to the work, then step further away.
Art date: I invite you to take yourself on an art date this winter and pick an artwork to sit or stand in front of for at least 10 minutes. You could make a list of things you notice. Maybe step closer to the work and notice a couple more. Then step further away. You might take note of where/how it is displayed (how is it framed or placed? what kind of lighting is in the space?). Look again, closer. You could ask yourself what the work might smell or sound like. What moves or troubles you about it? Let me know how it goes.
Upcoming workshops:
- Generative Drop-in: Spirals on Tuesday, January 20th, 6.30-7.30pm CT via Zoom. One hour to write together, using ~spirals~ as our lens/generative spark. $20-30 sliding scale session. Writers of all genres welcome.
- The next Embodied Revision workshop will be on Saturday, February 6th 11am-12.30pm CT via Zoom. This is a 1.5 hour cross-genre revision session, incorporating embodied approaches/experiments. $40-60 sliding scale. Bring a draft you’re hoping to revise! The strategies we try out can be applied to poetry or prose. Just let me know which you might bring to work with in the sign-up form.
You’re also welcome to reach out about your hopes for Working Together 1:1. My books are open for written feedback on manuscripts, essays, stories, poetry packets, and developing projects, to which we can also add a Zoom session depending on your goals. I also meet with writers 1:1 for tailored workshops and coaching. Just reach out with your specific needs/goals.
Lastly, Join me in signing up for the Stop ICE Raids Alert Network to report or find out about ICE activity in your area.
Til next time,