Living the Comma #4

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Pianos. Limitless Qualities. Love Letters.

Dear Writing Friends,

Greetings from a week about preparing to give Thanks. I am preparing to host and travel and visit. I am preparing to order Christmas Cards — my annual old school connection to folks near and far. Preparation’s smell wafts like pumpkin bread, to do lists, dirty floors, and grocery stores. Into this glorious fray, I write. I write my weekly assignments. I transcribe the gratitude conversations that have lived in my computer for years. I send pitches to write stories. I connect with face-to-face and virtual writing communities. I am thankful for it all. Truly.

This week, let’s take a look at Dani Shapiro’s description of Piano Lessons, Pema Chödrön’s discussion of Limitless Qualities, and Elizabeth Gilbert’s popular writing prompt, Letters from Love.

I am reminded to take a deep breath, as we imagine and create and build. Be gentle on ourselves and others. Pay attention, find awe, and tell about it. (Thank you Mary Oliver.) Connection with one another is the point of it all.

From the heart of the comma.

Katie

Thank you for Living the Comma with me. This community is truly a light in dark times. Subscribe to the Wide-Awakeness Project and share your light. It has never been more important.