Blog
Word Sketches — Images created with words
Have you ever tried to draw an image of something in your head using colored pencils, crayons, or watercolors? You must understand then the effort, creativity, and courage necessary to bring those images to the paper. I hope the words I sketch here will help you see the images I am creating for you. Even better, you may be inspired to create word sketches of your own!
“This time it’s all of us or none.”
The results of the US elections have the whole nation in a tizzy for one reason or another. I’m sure you can feel it in your bones as much as I do.
After getting everybody all riled up, now the media outlets are telling us what we need to do to relax: meditate, exercise, sleep, pet your dog, listen to music, write, etc. In order for me to stay sane, I will not delve further into the subject except to write that I am learning that comments that we make in public or post online often do not have the results we intended.
I am profoundly committed to listening to and working with others who disagree with me in order to make progress in this vulnerable situation in which we find ourselves. I appreciate your gentle efforts to point out my failures to me in this respect and apologize for my mistakes.
“This time that country is what we promise each other, our rage pressed cheek to cheek until tears flood the space between, until there are no enemies left, because this time no one will be left to drown and all of us must be chosen.
“This time it’s all of us or none.”
By Aurora Levins Morales
Artwork by Ricardo Levins Morales
Photo by Nylda Dieppa
Encounters
Our guest blogger today is Charlene Edge author of From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life and author of the award-winning memoir, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International. I wrote a blog about her last year. You can revisit it here. Today she is sharing with us a cherished poem.
This poem is a tribute to my husband, Hoyt Edge, the love we share, and how one moment might have made our amazing life together not happen at all. The poem emerged after he told me about his trip to South Africa in 1999 before we started dating in 2000.
The incident in the poem happened while he was on safari through Kruger National Park, riding in an open-top tour jeep with a few other sightseers. It was getting dark by this time, but up ahead the experienced tour driver saw signs of lions in the nearby grass and along the sandy road...
The Power of Truth
I met Emanuel Xavier, author of the poetic memoir Love(ly) Child, when I interviewed him recently for the Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club. His talent, honesty, and generosity of spirit inspired me to stay in touch with him because I have an underappreciated gay brother who died in the 80s and I have also written a poetic memoir that took a lot of courage for me to put out into the world (check it out here.) Serendipitously, it turned out our books were competing with each other for the 2024 International Latino Book Awards’ Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award. His was listed as a Finalist and mine as an Honorable Mention. I am profoundly honored to be in such outstanding company!
Plein Aire Poppies: A Dialogue Between Watercolors and Poetry
Listening to Natalia and watching the evolution of her painting I related it to my own creative process. The difference was that she thoroughly enjoyed each part of it and I anguished to make sure everything fell into place the way I wanted it. She had fun through the whole process. I had fun through much of it and struggled more than necessary with perceived errors and lack of control over my work. I made a list of her instructions and promised myself I would apply them to my own craft.
Let’s Talk About Women
I love and hate this picture of Mami and her brother Luyo kneeling prayerfully at the foot of Abuela Provi who is sitting in a chair. Abuelo Luis took this beautiful portrait of filial love and religious devotion. It expresses so much! But the story this image brings to mind affected me deeply growing up and led me to decide to bring my daughters up in a radically different way.
The Painful Chiseling Out Of Marbled Beliefs
In my newsletter “Word Sketches,” I have been updating my readers about my struggles to write the story of my mother’s life versus my own memoir. Here are more details about that effort.
Back in 2014, I participated in NaNoWriMo, a national race to write 50,000 words during the very-short-because-of short-because-of-the-holidays month of November. Being an overachiever, not only did I surpass that goal, but I also did a Writer’s Digest challenge to write a poem a day inspired by a prompt during the same month.
Undertow: How Life’s Undercurrents Can Pull Us Where We May Not Want to Go
Charlene Edge and I met over six years ago at a small social event where I learned her memoir, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International had been published a few months before. What intrigued me most about Charlene and her book was that she wrote about an organization my brother had been a part of for many years and refused to recognize as a cult.
On Choosing a Book Cover for My New Book
“Finding composure and acting with clarity and resolve, right in the midst of your fears, is a form of generosity that in Buddhism is sometimes referred to as ‘giving the gift of fearlessness.’”
Marc Lesser, “Do Less, Accomplish More”
I grew up avoiding confrontation because my dad’s doctor had said that he was prone to have a heart attack and drop dead at any time. My mother reminded us of that danger whenever my brothers had a typical boy’s brawl, which was too often for my comfort. I strove to be obedient. . . and not cause a disgusto or aggravation to my beloved dad. . .
I wrestled with these old, anxious feelings when deciding what the cover of my new book should look like. As the title says, Alborada, A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry, is a collection of poems narrating my life experiences. It takes a lot of courage to expose one’s life and character to an unknown audience. I wanted people to begin to discover who I am before they even opened the book.
A Second Chance for a New Dawn: The Journey
Growing up in Puerto Rico, I heard this often: “No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano.” It means sunrise doesn't come any sooner simply because you wake up a lot earlier. This new dawning has taken a lot of time to arrive for me, but it's almost here: Orange Blossom Publishing will release my new book on May 3, 2023!
You are loved!
You are loved! It is easy to become a bit cynical about being loved the way we need or think we should be when we are keenly aware of our own personal flaws and failures and those of the people around us.
Hope for the New Year
A new year is touted as a time for looking back at the lessons of the previous year, the situations our world and our communities are facing, as well as our own individual challenges. It’s an ideal time to commit to new ways of living in the world. Most years I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do renew my personal commitment to look for sources of hope and motivation. It’s an opportunity to develop a new clarity of vision for the New Year.
At the dawn of 2023, I think about how to dwell on the things that bring me hope so I can save my energies for working on the things I need and want to change. Some of those hopeful things are easy for me to discover. Others I find buried in the news and in other people’s optimistic attitudes.
To Divulge or Not to Divulge Secrets: The Questions I Ask Myself
Secrets. Who doesn’t carry the burden of a secret or two, terrified of letting them spill on the floor and break open in front of the world? Oh, how we protect ourselves from the prying eyes and morbid curiosity of strangers, yes —but also our neighbors, acquaintances, and loved ones!
I’ve been pondering lately, in private and with writing friends, how much, how wide, how deep the disclosure of secrets is appropriate in our work.
On Gratitude Beyond Grief
They tell of a man that once
so poor and miserable was he
that he only nourished himself
with some weeds he was collecting.
Is there anyone else, he mused,
poorer and sadder than me?
The Fairy Tale of Nimble Roots Farm
In the last few years, life has been full of tragedy, outrage, and frustration for too many of us. “Man’s inhumanity to man” has been boldly paraded in front of us and the consequences of our abuse of the environment have caused needless deaths and suffering. Here's a story that will uplift your spirits and fill you with hope in the love and generosity of human beings. I got goosebumps reading it.