A Season of Quiet Work: Upcoming Ragdale Residency

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and your new year is off to a great start. I haven’t updated this blog in awhile so here goes…

The end of 2019 had me really pondering a number of things: I had been, in the last months of the year, suffering a number of health setbacks. I was feeling terrible–exhausted, suffering from acid reflux so bad it burned my throat, migraine headaches, insomnia, depression, anxiety–I knew I needed to make some changes. I’d let my to-do lists (usually 3 or 4 at a time) dictate my life. I spent too much time on Twitter, endlessly, mindlessly scrolling, and getting anxious over the latest news. I had taken on too much and it didn’t agree with me.

I’ve always been a person who attended to her health, watched what I ate, exercised regularly. Due to stress, I ignored the very things that would have ameliorated that stress. (Can you relate to this?)

So, the changes: I’m giving myself only a few minutes a week on social media (Twitter’s the only one I use anyway and it’s not on my phone). I’m reading more, mostly poetry and essays, nonfiction, and memoir. I’m allowing myself to step back and say no to some things. I’ve unrolled my dusty yoga mat and find myself humbled by the loss of strength that’s happened in my neglect of regular practice. But hey, I’ve fought my way back before and I will again.

What I’m reading: “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell (this was on President Obama’s…still my president…reading list for 2019 and it’s really resonating with me), “Deaf Republic” by Ilya Kaminsky & “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong (poetry is something I read really slowly and these I’m reading in complete awe at the imagery, language, and compression…so much to learn from for a flash writer) and Mary Miller’s novel “Biloxi” (I love her humor, her keen perceptions of humanity, and the depth she manages to achieve with such a light touch). I heartily recommend all of these books.

Some good things: I’m excited about two recent acceptances from Washington Square Review and Copper Nickel, journals I have long admired. And today I have begun a “Writing with One Story” class online. If you’ve never taken a One Story class, I highly recommend it!

And on February 3rd, I journey to north of Chicago to embark on my 25 day Fellowship residency at Ragdale. I have two projects I mean to make significant progress on and it will be good to have that focused time to work, read, write, and take long wintry walks around the surrounding prairie.

Mostly, my friends, I’m beginning 2020 with a sense of gratitude and resolve. Thanks, as ever, for your support. 

P.S. I’ll be announcing my new round of Fast Flash workshops soon!