The closing paragraph of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's ruling on gay marriage. Kennedy wrote the decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States.
Read more at Slate.
Summer of Insatiable Hunger
It's summertime and I'm racing through reading material.
Novels, poetry, memoir, magazines, newspapers, manuals, cereal boxes, candy wrappers . . . The good, bad, monumental and mundane, I'm word-hungry.
After a (long, dark, dismal) run of ehh, I've recently lucked into some good books. Let's credit the solstice. Long light, long days, open mind. As always, timing is everything.
These books hit me at the right place, right time. And isn't that how it goes?
The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty
by Vendela Vida
An absorbing new novel, best enjoyed in one full sweep. Vida employs a risky approach: an entire novel written in second person narrative (You are growing increasingly panicked — you are in Morocco and don't have your backpack . . .). While initially off-putting, the style creates a tension of intimacy and distance for an ultimately engaging story.
The Edge of Sadness
by Edwin O’Connor
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1962 , this is a quiet novel gently tendering themes of forgiveness, redemption and the value of revising perceptions. I didn’t love it, but I appreciated it, and weeks after completing the book, I’m still thinking of it. That means something, I’m just not sure what.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
by Mindy Kaling
You know Mindy Kaling from “The Office,” the television show that furthered the mock-documentary style of serial storytelling. A stronger writer than actor, in this memoir-essay collection, she’s sharp and funny, offering masterful self-deprecation without the usual cloying aftertaste. Easy, breezy, fun.
What are you reading? What's snagged you at just the right time and place?
Thankful Thursday: Everywhere a sign
From pebble to peak, from profound to profane, it's time again for Thankful Thursday.
Because attention attracts gratitude and gratitude expands joy, it's time to slice through the ugly and get to the good:
In my ongoing attraction to signs (as in: horoscopes, billboards, messages), this week I drove past this doozy.
Rushed and full-throttled, this reminder is just what I needed to slow the frazzle in my head.
Odd, eye-catching and true.
On this Thankful Thursday, I'm grateful for signs.
What are you thankful for today?
You talking to me?
Those who have anxiety, those who are shy, or nervous, seem to be the most persistent seekers of calm,” says Shawna Lemay.
“We are those who know how to sit alone, trying to regain our sense of equilibrium. We are drawn to the poetic, the contemplative, to reading, to the rituals of the everyday. We need a certain amount of time alone, we attempt to make appointments with ourselves that we can keep.”
Feeling anxious? Head over to 3 Good Books to get your literary prescription. I asked Lemay to share her favorite books on the theme of calm — something she knows quite a lot about, having written a book of essays and a blog on the topic.
To blather is easy, to edit divine
I have to tell you,
there are times when
the sun strikes me
like a gong,
and I remember everything,
even your ears.
— Dorothea Grossman
This year, brevity meet clarity.
The Denver County Fair Poetry Contest is seeking Summer Shorts — poems of 10 lines or less. *
Even after all this time
the sun never says to the earth,
"You owe me."
Look what happens
with a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.
— Hafiz
Writing short is a challenge. Shorts require the potent blend of profound and precise. Or funny and tight. Or clever and clear. That can be tough stuff. To blather is easy, to edit divine.
a bee
staggers out
of the peony
— Basho
Do you write short? Have you a short poem to share? And tell me, what's the key to making a short poem sing?
* Lucky me, I'm the Director of Poetry for this fun occasion.
Thankful Thursday: Falling Off
Art by Shirley McPhillips
At first, I collected gratitudes easily:
Thank you for coffee made by someone who loves me.
Thank you for the thrift shop score (two skirts!)
Thank you for a good sleep.
Thank you for warm sun.
As the week wore on, my gratitude weakened:
Thanks for getting me to the gas station before I ran out of gas.
Thanks that I didn't break my arm while rollerblading (yes, I'm living in 1995).
Thank god these jeans still fit (but barely).
By yesterday, my gratitude devolved to grumbles:
Why is this line so long?
How hard is it to return a phone call?
Do I have to do everything?
Like exercise and good health, it's easy to take the high road when you're already walking in the light. One stumble and you fall away, gratitude and cheer clattering along with you. Gray skies, scuffed knees and sour spirit.
I don't have a cure.
But this morning I gazed upon this card, made just for me by a poet-friend correspondent, and thought, "Well, isn't that nice?"
Nice makes the world turn. One nice leads to another nice. Nice keeps me on the path.
Thank you.
Because attention attracts gratitude and gratitude expands joy, it's time for Thankful Thursday. Please join me.
What are you thankful for today?
Things I Didn't Tell Her
The other day I sent a graduation gift to a girl I've never met.
It's that time of the year — commencement season.
Along with the gift (a book, of course), I wrote a short note. Days later, in my mind, that note expanded. Turns out I was writing to her, and myself, and to many others making their way:
Dear Graduate,
Congratulations! We've never met, but I know your mother has worked hard to give you everything she never had, most notably a loving push to higher education.
That's big. Please step bravely, kindly & with appreciation into this new stage of your life.
Sound preachy? Maybe, but just indulge me for a bit. I'm tendering a few nuggets of advice that may ease the sometimes rocky road ahead:
1.
You don't know everything (and who would want to?)
In the scheme of the universe, you've been around for a split second. The world is wide open, and so is your mind. Try to keep it wide awake and willing. Listen, absorb, ask questions, and listen more. Veer away from hard and fast opinions. Give yourself time. Consider many sides. Know that not knowing is the best knowing of all.
2.
Keep a secret (in fashion and in life)
Secrets are good. Not the I-have-a-second-family kind of secret, or stashing-whiskey-in-the-garage sort of thing, but more like this: The Secret Life by Stephen Dunn.
The world is burdened with overshare. In fashion, the stylish are those who choose their emphasis (don't show leg and cleavage; choose one, and then choose carefully), and so you, too, must keep something close, covered. Mystery wins.
Fashion tip No. 2: Showing shoulder is classy; showing breast is not.
3.
Say I'm sorry
You're gonna mess up. We all do. The key is to apologize — without defensiveness or excuses. Don't worm your way through a faux apology ("I'm sorry you feel that way"). No, no, no! Own up and express genuine remorse.
And while you're at it, learn empathy. This is where compassion and kindness take root. Empathy informs and heightens our sense of responsibility.
4.
You're not special
Well, yes, of course you are special in that one-of-a-kind snowflake way. But let's not get bigheaded. David McCullough Jr, a high school teacher, explains it best.
5.
Give thanks
I'm not alone in my love of the thank you note. Jimmy Fallon writes one every week. Leah Dieterich writes one every day.
"In the process of opening a note, feeling the paper, seeing the imperfection of the writing, reading the message in another person’s voice, you actually feel like you have a piece of that person in your hand,” says a 20-something thank-you-note-writer in "The Found Art of Thank You Notes."
We all like to feel appreciated, and the act of expressing gratitude increases your connection to others — and makes the recipient feel good too. Bonus points for handwritten notes.
6.
You're never as fat as you think you are.
(But more exercise won't kill you).
I've spent my life feeling hefty. And when I look back at photos, I wasn't fat. The mind can be so cruel.
I don't know you, but I bet you're not fat. And I hope you've never worried about your weight. But you are female so the chances are good that you've experienced the body image torture that saddles so many.
Let's skip the platitudes and positive thinking. Here's what worked for me: Find a physical activity that you enjoy — swim, ski, bike, yoga, dance, run, paddle — and then have fun doing it. This is a cure for both mind and body. And if, like me, you're always looking for ways to do less and eat more, just do more. Really, it's that simple. And that hard.
And maybe that's the best advice of all: do more.
Don't fret and fritter. Don't delay. Just do more. Love more. Listen more. Feel more. Live more.
That last tip should cover you for life.
With love & hope,
Drew
p.s. This was fun. Let's do it again before graduate school.
On Troubled Childhood
I believe we’re held together by fragile connections and too often these are broken in childhood," says Fran Kimmel.
Kimmel's award-winning novel, The Shore Girl, is a smart, sharp story of a young girl growing up amid tough circumstance.
Shore Girl was one of my favorite novels of 2012, and I'm delighted to introduce you to Kimmel at 3 Good Books, a series in which I give writers a topic (related to their work) and ask them to share their favorite books on that theme.
What's your favorite book about the tough world of growing up?
Join us at 3 Good Books, where Kimmel shares her top picks.
Someone has to push the rubble
The End and the Beginning
After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won’t
straighten themselves up, after all.
Someone has to push the rubble
to the side of the road,
so the corpse-filled wagons
can pass.
Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.
Someone has to drag in a girder
to prop up a wall.
Someone has to glaze a window,
rehang a door.
Photogenic it’s not,
and takes years.
All the cameras have left
for another war.
We’ll need the bridges back,
and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
from rolling them up.
Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens
and nods with unsevered head.
But already there are those nearby
starting to mill about
who will find it dull.
From out of the bushes
sometimes someone still unearths
rusted-out arguments
and carries them to the garbage pile.
Those who knew
what was going on here
must make way for
those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.
In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds.
— Wislawa Szymborska
To chirp Happy Memorial Day seems wrong. Where is the happy in war?
And so I say, let's try to imagine and honor what we don't fully know. Let's reach to understand.
Keep it Classy
Superlatives At Work!
Alternate Title: Oh, the places you'll go!
That's good copy. No, really. The writer: 1) caught my attention, 2) made me stop (to snap a pic), and 3) took a fresh perspective. That's a win!
But before we head over for happy hour, let's explore the definition of "classy" . . .
Thankful Thursday: Have a Martini
Because attention attracts gratitude and gratitude expands joy, it's time for Thankful Thursday (on, err, Friday).
I'm easy to please — just write me a letter. Handwritten notes make me giddy. This week I'm thankful for a bounty of kindness: completely unexpected and unsolicited letters and cards in my mailbox. And tucked inside a very nice note was a lovely poem with a touching backstory.
This poem appears in God's Hotel, a book chronicling Dr. Victoria Sweet's work with the poor, homeless and mentally ill at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco, California. The author of the following poem is Mr Zed (a pseudonym to protect privacy), who was a member of the hospital's poetry group:
Letter Needing No Stamp
To His Supreme Holiness, the Lord:
I sometimes wonder how you can bear
The dreadful burden of knowing everyone's thoughts.
The anguish, the heartbreak, the agony.
How can you even relax?
Maybe you try not to get too involved.
Or maybe you spend all night, weeping.
Why did you create such a sad world?
Why don't sandwiches grow on trees?
Why do infants die?
Why do honest people get cheated?
Why do the poor get crushed to the wall?
Personally, I would turn down your job in a second.
You can't buy a pie or go to the movies.
And there are always people denouncing you and cursing you.
Some say you had a crazy son who said
I am the Way and the Life.
We must all pray that you never resign or become bitter.
As sad as things seem to be here
Without you they'd be infinitely worse.
Thank God for God
Stay in there buddy
Have a martini once in a while
Create a new universe.
— Mr. Zed
It's Thankful Thursday. Please join me.
What are you thankful for today?
Love that line!
All during Lena's life, Ella had worried about how the world could harm her. But the world could love her as well.
— from Like Normal People
a novel by Karen E. Bender
On Marriage & Divorce
Today I understand that sometimes couples get what they need from one another and then move on," says January Gill O'Neil. "I wouldn’t be the woman, mother, and writer that I am today without those experiences. And I would not have made it through the divorce without poetry."
She is director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, and assistant professor of English at Salem State University.
At 3 Good Books, she shares the books that helped her "get through the most difficult time in my life."
We've got Winners!
National Poetry Month is over.
Poem in Your Pocket Day is done.
And now, our last piece of business — announcing the winners of the Big Poetry Giveaway. Congratulations to . . .
Renee Emerson - winner of Thin Skin, by Drew Myron
Lori Cooley - winner of What It Is, by Lynda Barry
A good time was had by all.
Thanks for playing & poeming.
Thankful Thursday: Poem in Your Pocket
Oh, sweet serendipity!
So many good things in a single day: Thankful Thursday, Poem in Your Pocket Day, and your last chance to enter the Big Poetry Giveaway.
As part of National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day encourages you to carry a poem and share it with others.
You don't have to ask me twice; I revel in an opportunity to share poetry. On this Thankful Thursday, I sing the praises of poems carried, clutched, and shared.
What's in your pocket?
On Sunday: Distracted
You, who seek grace from a distracted God.
— Luis Alberto Urrea
from The Tijuana Book of the Dead
For days, this line hangs in my head.
I don’t know why. Timing, I suppose. It’s always timing.
And something about the direct appeal: You, who seek . . .
And my "trigger" words: seek, grace
But it’s the distracted that really gets me: from a distracted God
That’s it, isn’t it?
When we are lost and wandering, when answers seem nowhere, we think God is on vacation, pulled away by bigger problems, bigger people. We are forgotten.
And so these words hang like a necklace, around my neck, close to my heart. Reminder.
Of what, I'm not sure. It's Sunday, and I'm working it out.
On Wild Places
"Wild places — open, public lands — are where I gain my bearings, where I hike and run and think," says Erin Block, who lives in the mountains of Colorado.
She's a librarian by day and a writer by night, and her book, The View from Coal Creek, is a passionate reflection on fishing and life.
Join us at 3 Good Books, where Block shares her favorite books about wild places.
Thankful Thursday: Not Moldy Bread
I'm making a list in my head, I told her.
Of what?
Things I'm thankful for.
Am I on it?
Are you on it! I said.
She closed her eyes and made her own list.
Can it be something as small as discovering that your bread isn't moldy after all so there'll be toast for the kids for breakfast? she asked.
Yes, I said. My eyes were still closed. Right now I'm thanking God for twist-offs.
Oh, good one, she said.
— All My Puny Sorrows
a novel by Miriam Toews
It's Thankful Thursday, a weekly pause to express appreciation for the joys big, small, and inbetween. What are you thankful for today?
It's not a test
Even in elementary school it troubled me when our teacher, with all good intentions, read a poem to the class, then asked, What does it mean? My problem wasn't with the question, but with the idea that there was an Answer . . . A poem is not a test. Readers of poetry can't fail.
— Laura Kasischke
Yes! Exactly, yes.
Go here to read the full (but brief) glorious truth.
Win! Free Books for Poetry Month
Welcome to the 6th Annual Big Poetry Giveaway!
To celebrate National Poetry Month, poets across the globe are giving away books. Lucky you!
Playing is easy. To enter the drawing, simply leave a comment at the end of this blog post. On May 1st, I'll close my eyes, choose two names, and announce the winners.
I'm giving away two books — my own and one of my favorites:
Thin Skin
by Drew Myron
A blend of black-and-white photos paired with tender, precise poems.
She is the poet laureate of vulnerability!
— Molly Spencer, The Stanza
Thin Skin exposes the reader to life’s harsh elements, but also shows the way to refuge.
— Brian Juenemann
Pacific Northwest
Booksellers Association
What It Is
by Lynda Barry
Lynda Barry is a writer, illustrator and enthusiastic advocate for the arts. "Creativity is there in everybody, in everybody,” she says.
While not technically a poet, Barry embodies the creative, willing spirit that poetry requires. In fact, the Poetry Foundation featured Barry in this friendly and practical chat.
About Your Hostess (Me!)
Who I am: Drew Myron - writer, editor, encourager, poet, wife, daughter, sister
What I do: Write, read, snack & nap. Also, run a marketing communications company in which I give voice to people, places, projects.
What I believe: Gratitude drives joy. With Thankful Thursday, I take a weekly pause to express appreciation for things big and small. Please join in!
Blogs I read: Calm Things by Shawna Lemay, The Stanza by Molly Spencer, Battered Hive by Shawnte Orion, 3 Good Books by Push Pull Books (and me).
To enter the drawing, please leave your name and contact info in the comment section by April 30, 2015. I'll randomly choose and announce the two lucky winners the week of May 1, 2015.
For the chance to win even more books, go here to see a list of participating poets.