Writing Update: Rutherford and Country Music

On Everyday Liturgy I try to have a moderate, temperate voice. It’s how I feel most comfortable talking about matters of faith and spirituality. But there is another side of me. A side that rants (it did make a rare appearance on Everyday Liturgy when I briefly discussed a certain bridge).

I ranted a bit on the topic of country music over on The Curator‘s blog in “A Lament for Country Music.” It got a bit out of hand, and became a bit verbose:

“Country music was founded on lyrical proximity to the grit of the earth. Now it is just dressed up in poser cowboy boots and abhorently bad musical renditions of arrested development, binge drinking, adolescent love, pseudo-Christian ideals and bad Shakespearean puns.”

You can read the rest of the essay here. I would also like to invite you to help choose the Top 20 country artists making music today by nominating three country artists in the comments of “Help Us Curate: Good Country Music.”

I also wrote about the town of Rutherford, and my general lack of knowledge about it. It’s a place featured in Wendell Berry’s book William Carlos Williams of Rutherford, and I explore how Rutherford’s proximity to me doesn’t mean I really know anything about it. An excerpt:

“I don’t really know Rutherford that well. I have frequented the Western store in Rutherford upon occasion. I went and watched Fourth of July fireworks there seven or eight years ago. But I haven’t actually stepped foot on Rutherford soil in at least four years. I just glide right through it on the train, at least 30 times a year.”

You can read the rest of my essay “Thomas On Glynn On Berry On Williams On Place” on The Master’s Artist.

Writing Update: Making Creativity Playful

On The Master’s Artist I wrote an essay today on some helpful tips to make creativity playful. It’s the childlike enthusiasm for creativity I see in my own daughter that I want to harness a bit more, instead of getting bogged down in perfection. There’s a big difference in the approach “let me write a poem like Robert Frost” and “let me have fun with poetry.”

Here’s tip one from my essay:

Tip #1: Stretch Yourself – you can make your creative activities playful by stretching yourself. Make creativity a game by stretching your art into a genre or sphere you have zero experience or knowledge in. I do this by drawing illustrations or illuminating some of my poetry. I have zero drawing skills, yet it helps me see the themes in my poetry that I don’t see myself at first glance, and it adds a color palette that I can use in my editing that I would have never noticed without drawing.

You can read the rest of the essay here: “Three Tips to Make Creativity Playful.”

Writing Update: A Childlike 2012

Over on The Master’s Artist I wrote “A Childlike 2012,” a sort of new year’s resolution for writing and poetry. An excerpt:

As I looked back on the movies and books I really enjoyed this year I noticed a common theme: they were made for children and young adults. From the final Harry Potter movie to The Muppets toThe Hunger Games, these all had children included as part of the intended audience.
While I may have enjoyed young adult films and fiction this year, I must confess that my own writing and art isn’t always the most accessible….

You can read the rest here.

Writing Update: Whole Foods is Cheaper…

I have an essay published in The Curator which tries to dispel the myth that Whole Foods means Whole Paycheck. I said in front of my College Writing class a few weeks ago that fast food is not necessarily cheaper than Whole Foods, and the aghast looks I was met with prompted me to do some research and come up with some cold, hard facts. My essay “Whole Foods is Cheaper than Fast Food?” fits right into the ethos of my Ethical Eating series, which looks at how Christians should eat.

An excerpt:

…while I may be able to prove to my class that Whole Foods is cheaper than fast food, the value placed on instant gratification, ready-made food and the on-the-go lifestyle is what keeps more people from visiting farmers markets or buying healthy, sustainable food. Eating is often divorced from cooking, or worse, cooking is considered a privilege that not everyone can afford. So the cooking, for better or worse, gets outsourced.

You can read the rest of my essay here.

Writing Update: Creating for Community & the Bookseller’s Opinion

Over the past week or so I published a few pieces around the Internet for your enjoyment.

On The Master’s Arist I wrote briefly about the creative process of writing a prayer book for the local church I attend, and how it is different than the creative projects I am used to:

Most of the time I create for myself and then share with others. It is a process of moving from the deep stirrings of my mind or heart and creating an artifact that I then share (if I think it is good enough for other eyes to see).

This project is the opposite. I’m standing on the outside, creating something for a whole group of people. Eventually, this project will stir my mind and heart as I pray along with others.

You can read my full essay, “Creating for Community,” on The Master’s Artist.

I also took some time to interview David Wheeler, the poet and bookseller, about digital publishing for The Other Journal‘s Mediation blog. David brings an interesting perspective as both an author and a seller. He offers some insight into the economic realities of digital publishing:

I think we also need to remember that a book (digital or not) might be peanuts to actually print and distribute, but it’s often years of labor for the author. You get maybe a few days to a few weeks of enjoyment from a book—maybe a lifetime—break that down to an hourly wage, and for the sake of argument imagine it all goes to the author, and at $30 it’s still slave’s wages.

You can read the rest of my interview, “The Brave New Digital Publishing World: An Interview with David Wheeler,” on Mediation.

Writing Update: Advent & L.L. Barkat

A couple of months ago I was contacted by Christine Sine, who helps run Mustard Seed Associates, about being a contributor to the Advent devotional they were producing, Waiting for the Light. I readily accepted, and my short essay on Advent is Day 1 in the devotional; quite an honor I think. More honorable than that is the company of other authors on the project: Julie Clawson, Kathy Escobar, Kimberlee Conway Ireton, Ed Cyzweski, JR Woodward, Tim Morey, Jamie Arpin-Ricci, and Tom & Christine Sine. So many of these people are authors I respect, and to be in their company is a really big deal for me.

About the devotional:

Christians of all traditions are discovering the value of taking time in the days that lead up to Christmas to break away from the consumer frenzy of our culture and prepare their hearts and minds for the coming of Christ. This resource responds to this desire. It is more than a devotional, it is a complete guide to the Advent and Christmas season, providing liturgies, weekly activities and daily reflections to equip and nourish us all through the season.

Pre-order before November 15th at the special price of $13 (includes S&H)!

Also published today is my interview with L.L. Barkat on The Other Journal‘s Mediation blog. We discuss her publishing venture, T.S. Poetry Press, and how the world of publishing is changing. An excerpt:

Digital publishing, in the hands of experienced authors who have connections, in the hands of experienced editors who know how to bring a book to print, is changing the game. It can still be Createspace, but when the book arrives to the buyer, she will absolutely know the difference. The quality of the writing, the art, the endorsements will all say this is not vanity; it is something to be regarded.

And because this can be done at a fraction of the cost (without funding warehouses, inventory and royalties systems, fulfillment and distribution), well, the “small” press has much bigger opportunities than ever before.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

And a side note: speaking of L.L. Barkat, her press has an awesome service called Every Day Poems. For $1 a year you get a poem every week day sent to your inbox, curated around rotating themes throughout the year. Today my poem, “October Forth, in Manhattan,” is published in Every Day Poems. To see it and other poems throughout the year for the amazingly low price of $1 just click here to subscribe.