Bardo Poem
Here is the poem (perhaps still in progress) that grew out of my lessons in negative space and my introduction to the buddhist concept of bardo. Thank you, Kennon.
“A Lesson in Negative Space”
Tagged with: connection, moments, poem
Bardo - Between the Islands
I had dinner the other night with Vanessa and Kennon. They travel all of the time. I told them that traveling makes me anxious. Kennon asked me why. I told him that transitions are hard for me. He explained Bardo—a buddhist concept that, according to Wikipedia, means an intermediate or transitional state. Apparently bar means between and do means island. Kennon explained that the most fundamental transition is the one from life to death. He looked at my denim jacket, and he said, “Consider taking off that jacket and putting on another. Consider that transition. Consider the movement from life to death as being that simple.”
In my drawing class, the instructor spent a whole class period on the concept of negative space—that being the shapes that happen between and around the object you are trying to draw. For instance, if you look at a chair, you see the seat, the back, and the legs. But if you look at the space around and between the chair, you see something else. In drawing the negative space around a chair, you end up drawing a chair.
Tagged with: connection, learning, poem
Past
In exploring the poetry of my past, I am discovering a part of my writer self that I thought I had lost. I want to find a way to reconnect what I am doing now with what I did then. And it is happening. I just finished one last draft of my novel—now called, tentatively, New Moon Falls. As I revised, I found that part of my writer self from years ago—the part of me that wrote this poem:
Fossil
Tagged with: connection, discovery, poem, process
Poets
When I was 20, I met Guri. She probably had more influence on my young mind than any other person I have known. She introduced me to so much new. We first met as part of a poetry group—all women: Pearl Sarah Bates, Hedy Berman, Nora Stern, Guri Andermann, and me. That group produced a chapbook of poems called “Mother Mountain.” Guri and I lost touch over the years, but with the help of my website, we have reconnected, and in reconnecting with Guri, I am also reconnecting with poetry.
So it is fitting that I offer a poem here—one that Guri wrote—and one that reminds me of what a fine poet she is:
Tagged with: connection, moments, poem, words
"Aren't Us"
September 11th, 2001 has been on my mind lately. I just enrolled in a new drawing class, and so I have been looking through some of my drawing/painting exercises from past art classes, and I came upon pieces I had done in 2001, months before the horrible event. Looking at those dates—May 2001, August 2001—I could not imagine what it felt like to not know what I was about to know.
And the other day, in looking through an old textbook, searching for teaching ideas, I came upon a poem I had never read before:
Tagged with: connection, discovery, poem, truth, words
Shadow
A recent obituary about the children’s book illustrator Tasha Tudor offered one of her favorite quotations:
The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.
—Fra. Giovanni Giocondo
Tagged with: center, connection, quotation, struggle, truth, words
Revising
I just finished (I say that loosely) a new draft of my novel.
I all but threw out the last draft and started over. The protagonist is the same, and her best friend—a sort of sidekick—remains. Other than that, the story morphed ahead several decades, and its focus became much smaller.
This writing process confounds me, yet I am in love with it. I spend so much time alone, mulling over words and phrases, wondering, “How would she really respond in this situation?”
Tagged with: audience, connection, construct, process, rejection, struggle, truth, why write
Backpacks
Years ago, I remember seeing rows and rows of shoes in a Holocaust Museum exhibit—the shoes had been collected from one of the camps. And the notion that shoes hold our identities (footprints) has stayed with me as a metaphor.
Today, page one of The Boston Globe shows gays and lesbians celebrating California’s legalization of gay marriage. As a married lesbian in Massachusetts, I am proud of my state and thrilled that the California court went even further in its judgment—offering gays and lesbians from any state the opportunity to travel there and marry.
Tagged with: connection, truth
Bleeding Hearts
The Bleeding Heart Bush is a perennial metaphor. It blooms at this time of year; and in the morning, when I walk Gizmo, I stop and stare at one that rises from behind my neighbor’s small wooden fence—all those hearts bleeding.
Tagged with: connection, discovery, moments
Inspiration
The experience of watching lead runners pass me by during my recent half-marathon experience, as I mentioned in a previous post, was humbling.
On my first run since the half-marathon, I decided to do a four mile route over at the Arnold Arboretum—the amazing tree museum that makes up part of Boston’s Emerald Necklace.
Tagged with: connection, learning, struggle
The Feminist in Me
Okay. So I crossed the finish line! I did it! Nevermind that some women ran 13.1 miles in half the time it took me. I found my pace. I found my zone. I made it.
At several points on the course, authoritative voices called out, “Make way for the lead runners,” and I would turn to see women racing past me. For an instant, I thought, “Damn! Who do I think I am?” But I reminded myself, “I have my own pace.” And the next time someone called out, “Make way!” I said loudly and clearly, “I need my space, too.”
Tagged with: connection, imitation, quotation
The Perfect Glass
Recently, I purchased three stemless wine glasses. I wanted six, but the store only had three. One evening, I poured some chianti into one of the glasses. I drank. It was a perfect wine experience.
These glasses are not thin, as are so many wine glasses. They have a certain stability to them. And the design cut into the crystal is called “pearl”—white dots neatly aligned vertically. The 15 oz. shape fits perfectly into my small hands.
Tagged with: connection, moments, story
Ambiguity
This morning, my usual routine has been disrupted by four men tearing apart our upstairs bathroom. Gizmo, particularly, is unhappy with the circumstances. He comes to sit underneath my legs, as if I am some shield.
My semester begins in two weeks, and in the next few days, I will ease into syllabus building.
Tagged with: connection, discovery, quotation
Another link
My friend Anita lives in Manhattan. She has a very full and interesting life. She writes. And she also teaches high school. Recently, she watched my Ben Cartwright video-story and then told me about David Rose, the composer of the “Bonanza Theme Song.” He’s most famously known as the composer of “The Stripper.” Anita grew up in LA, and David Rose was her best friend’s father. Anita spent a lot of time in the music industry, and she considered David Rose a mentor of sorts. Anita has a blog, from a high school teacher’s perspective. It’s listed under links as “Schoolmarm.” Check it out.
Tagged with: connection, discovery, links
Pace
The other day, I said to Diane, “There’s an epidemic of slow drivers.” Every time I drive somewhere, I inevitably end up behind someone driving at least ten miles-an-hour less than I believe we should be going. In my more frustrated states, I shake my head and lift my hands in helpless gestures, hoping that the drivers look in their rearview mirrors and recognize just how much they are inconveniencing me. In my more philosophical states, I think—it’s good for me to slow down. And so I back off and see what I see out the windows.
And today, forced to drive slow, I thought about pace—how that driver ahead of me has some pace that works for him. And simply, his pace is not mine. That got me thinking about pace in general and how one person’s seldom matches another’s.
Tagged with: connection, pace, students
Waiting
Here is the text of my most recent letter to students:
We spend so much of our lives waiting: for trains, for doctors, for a phone call, a letter, a dream to come true. We wait in lines or in rooms made just for waiting, with chairs and magazines, even toys and TV and coffee.
Tagged with: connection, discovery, letters, why write
Links
So far, there are two links to other sites on this page. I plan to add more. But I’ve been thinking about the word itself, links, and how the internet has created a valuable sense of connection for me.
If you are interested in children’s literature or baseball, check out Barbara Gregorich’s website. She and I are in a critique group together, and she has been a wonderful writing and marketing resource for me. Our group, called the Londonderries, is made up of six writers, from different cities. We meet every week online, and we meet every two years in person.
Tagged with: connection, links, why write, words