Love. Stevie Wonder. Mondays. Ross Gay.

Love’s in need of love today/ Don’t delay/ Send yours in right away/ Hate’s goin’ ’round/ Breaking many hearts/ Stop it please/ Before it’s gone too far

— Stevie Wonder

Good Morn or Evening Friends,

I want to bid adieu to February with a nod to one of my favorite albums, Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life, paying particular attention to the song, “Love’s in Need of Love Today.” I would be rich if I had a penny for every time I turn to this album. I would know despair more deeply if not for this album. I would know love a little less if not for this album. Creating — and by extension, writing — is an act of love, and love’s in need of love today. Our group is engaged in sending love, stopping hate, and building hearts. Our work is that important. Our voices are that necessary.

Join our Weekly Writer’s Call on Thursday. Happening every Thursday from 1-2, each call will be an hour of silently and virtually writing together. Whatever project you choose to work on. Whenever you want to join in. Between the cracks of our busy days. Join our effort to write together. Here is the link for this Thursday.

This newsletter — Living the Comma — is delivered weekly to keep our broader community up-to-date and writing. If you know other’s who might want to be involved, please share word of our group, the newsletter, and the virtual link.

Our next in person writing session will be March 1 at VHC after snack time. We are scheduled to meet from 12:15 to 1:30 in April and May, too. To virtually connect with the group during our meetings, use this link — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85095318186.

For a prompt this week, I am sharing MONDAYS ARE FREE, a year-long writing journey. (I have participated in this experience since it started a year ago.) “These [MONDAYS ARE FREE ] exercises are sometimes ‘poetry’ exercises and sometimes ‘prose’ exercises, but in fact, the older we get, the less invested we are in the particularities or rigidities of genre. In other words, all the exercises will hopefully be useful for whatever you might be working on. After all, beautiful writing is beautiful writing. And practice at beautiful writing is practice at beautiful writing.” Here is an exercise for this week, including my response —

EXERCISE 185: WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE IN SONG!

Bopped a bit!

The earth is wobbling off its axis! Bopped a bit from its orbit! Scientists, dancers, and hummingbirds have collaborated on a massive study that shows we can get back on track if all the working people sing! Write a piece that summons every person from every walk of life all over the globe to sing. Use “Calling all…” as anaphora.

Ross Gay’s — one of the author’s involved in MONDAYS ARE FREE — “Joy Is Such a Human Madness” and On Being conversation “On the Insistence of Joy” provide a beautiful window into his work. I am profoundly grateful to have participated in MONDAYS ARE FREE this year.

So, as March approaches and buds form and Lenten reflections continue, let’s give love some love. Every. Single. Day. However that manifests as you make your way. As hate breaks hearts, let’s put them back together.

From the heart of the comma,

Katie

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