[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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MONDAYS ARE FREE 041 — 045
EXERCISE 041: ON LISTING AGAINST DEATH
a declaration of what we love
Write a list of 100 objects you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell throughout your day. The only requirement is that it is all one sense. If you want to carry the exercise further, do 100s with other senses.
The smell of — 1. Roses. 2. Magnolia. 3. Rain. 4. Red Velvet Cupcakes. 5. Cabernet. 6. Derby Pie. 7. Jasmine. 8. Peony. 9. Safety. 10. Burgoo. 11. Home. 12. Mary Alice Hadley Pottery. 13. Bonfires. 14. Sunshine. 15. Pizza. 16. Ceramic Chickens. 17. #5. 18. White Shoulders. 19. White Linen. 20. Jadore. 21. Corn Muffins. 22. Pine. 23. Lake. 24. Vanilla. 25. Tomato Vines. 26. Green Beans. 27. Wet hair. 28. Laundry. 29. Peaches. 30. Roots. 31. Cucumber. 32. Sage. 33. Mint. 34. Cinnamon. 35. Basil. 36. Hospital. 37. Health. 38. Illness. 39. Healing. 40. Greg’s Braves Hat. 41. My Boot. 42. Honeysuckle. 43. Rhododendron. 44. Iris. 45. Hyacinth. 46. Bluebonnet. 47. Forsythia. 48. Lemon. 49. Chocolate. 50. Seattle. 51. The Ohio River. 52. Hops. 53. Laughter. 54. Tears. 55. Friendship. 56. Connection. 57. Paws. 58. Strangers. 59. Friends. 60. Colleagues. 61. Funeral Homes. 62. Waiting Rooms. 63. Dental Chairs. 64. Lavender. 65. Candles. 66. Coffee. 67. Bakeries. 68. Mexican Restaurants. 69. New Construction. 70. Airports. 71. A Grandmother’s House. 72. A Church Sanctuary. 73. Clean Litter Box. 74. Dirty Litter Box. 75. Pillow. 76. Blanket. 77. Sheet. 78. Pill Box. 79. Shampoo. 80. Conditioner. 81. Body Wash. 82. Face Wash. 83. Face Cream. 84. Deodorant. 85. Key West Sunsets. 86. Black Car Interior In The Afternoon. 87. Hot Shower Water. 88. Hot Hair Dryer. 89. Bourbon. 90. Seafood Counter. 91. Journal With Fresh Ink. 92. Dish Washer. 93. Old Construction. 94. Atlanta. 95. Gas Station. 96. Wet Leaves. 97. Refrigerator. 98. Freezer. 99. Atlanta. 100. Iron Ducks.
EXERCISE 042: ON BOLD EXAGGERATION
till the ocean is folded
A common expression is, I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. Put another emotion or attribute in that sentence. “I’m so happy I could…”; “I’m so short I could…”; “I’m so stinky I could…” With one substitution, generate an elaborate list of all the things this quality makes you able to do.
I’m so excited I could forget to wear clothes. I’m so happy I could kiss the sky. I’m so angry I could spit tacks. I cry so much rivers could have tributaries in my name. I am so stinky perfume begs to find my wrist. I am so sad my tears already found tissues. I am so organized my plans make plans. I am so smart my curiosity is bored. I am so optimistic my glass is always full. I am so motivated I sleep with my shoes on. Spring is so beautiful impermanence feels impossible. Morning is so hopeful daylight is a fortress. My bed is so soft I forget I am sleeping. I love so hard my heart bursts.
EXERCISE 043: ON STRUCTURE
how the poem turns
Remember our Anadiplosis exercise from last Monday? Well, the last line from yesterday’s poem (or last week’s poem, or any poem you’ve written, whatever works) is the first line of today’s. And the first line from yesterday’s poem will be the last line of today’s.
Abide we me.
The hymn proclaims.
What does it mean to abide in a world where seas shifts and suns crawl and moons hang? What does it mean to abide in a world where the firmament and our friends weep? What does it mean to abide in an impermanent world?
To abide is stillness and knowing, open hands and heart, breath and pace, truth and clarity, chrysalis and wings, leaf and root, elastic horizon and salty earth.
To abide is constancy and safety, connection beyond words, intentional pause.
To abide is the syllables that wrap stories and taste like sweetness and sorrow.
I love so hard my heart bursts.
EXERCISE 044: SLOWING IT DOWN
thinking about time
Write at the top of a blank page: In Praise of Slowness. Your first line is “It takes so much time to…”
In Praise of Slowness
It takes so much time to heal.
Ten weeks after foot surgery, I am bored with the brace and the boot. I am bored with the pointing and flexing. I am bored with being tired before I even start.
I am ready to move. I am ready to take long walks and breathe spring in my bones. I am ready to be pain free. Let me say that again. I am ready to be pain free.
Our bodies understand perfect time. Our bodies understand seasons and tides. Our bodies don’t rush or lie. Our bodies don’t cheat or hurry.
Day-by-day healing happens. Decision-by-decision. Tear-by-tear. Inch-by-inch.
It takes so much time to heal.
EXERCISE 045: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?
to live in wonder
Write 15 very specific questions for the oldest person you know.
- What do you love? 2. If you could talk to your 20 year-old-self today, what would you say? 3. What is your greatest joy? 4. What do you build, create, invent? 5. What is your greatest sadness? 6. What do we learn from failure? 7. What do we learn from success? 8. Where do you find meaning? 9. What’s your biggest secret? 10. When do you feel strongest? 11. Where do you find miracles? 12. What is your favorite story to tell? 13. If you were creating a time capsule to open in 100 years, what 3 things would you include? 14. When you see a spider web, how do you react? 15. What is your favorite word?
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About Katie
From Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.
