“The point . . . is not to record what you already know about what happened to you in the last 24 hours. Instead, it’s an invitation to the back of your mind to come forward and reveal to you the perishable images about the day you didn’t notice you noticed at all.” —Lynda Barry […]
“Living a self-conscious life, under the pressure of time, I work with the consciousness of death at my shoulder, not constantly, but often enough to leave a mark upon all of my life’s decisions and actions. And it does not matter whether this death comes next week or thirty years from now; this consciousness gives
Death on My Shoulder Read More »
“The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he’s in business.” —John Berryman If you’ve experienced trauma in your life, do you think it’s fueled your creativity? Has it fueled your desire to express yourself in writing, or has it been
Does Suffering Lead to Creativity? Read More »
“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” —Muriel Rukeyser Make a list of stories that make up your universe. Share part of your list with just enough detail to intrigue us. Then choose one story from your list to tell us the whole thing.
Stories, Not Atoms Read More »
It’s the end of a long, wonderful trip. It actually feels like I’ve been in Italy a lot longer than I have. What an amazing group we had the honor to travel with. It was an honor to create this retreat with Graseilah Coolidge and Karyn Bristol and Virginia and Rodolfo, our wonderful hosts who
A tour Of Boboli Gardens …
Our Last Day in Florence, Italy Read More »
Today, we had the privilege of getting a private tour of the Palace, one of the properties owned by the Budini-Gattai family, who also own the Villa where we just had our ten-day writing/yoga/cultural exploration retreat. Rodolfo, our host at the Villa, the 12th of 13 children of his generation of Budini-Gattais, and his wife,
Florence: You never know what you’ll find behind a closed door Read More »
I’m going to miss these meals—today is our last full day at the Villa. We transfer back to Florence tomorrow. 10 of us will be doing an in-depth tour of Florence for four days. Everyone else flies home or goes on to other destinations tomorrow. This is the very beginning of olives-the flowers are coming
The Last Full Day at the Villa Read More »
Yesterday, because we had an all-day outing to Lucca, we didn’t have time for our usual sit-down writing class, so I gave my students a travel assignment: “While you’re in Lucca, look for a story. Find a moment in your day that you can write about. It can be something you experienced, an interaction you
Every day at lunch and dinner, my co-leader Graseilah Coolidge rings a fork on a glass to get everyone’s attention, stands and describes what we’re eating for each course of our three course meal. Here she is introducing the second course of our lunch today. Turn up your volume.
Every Day at the Villa Read More »
We did one of my favorite writing prompts in class this morning, based on this poem: Imperfectionby Elizabeth Carlson I am falling in love with my imperfectionsThe way I never get the sink really clean,forget to check my oil,lose my car in parking lots,miss appointments I have written down,am just a little late. I am
Writing Prompt at the Villa Read More »
“I don’t need to create my life. I only need to follow the thread that’s already there.” —Unknown Tell me about a positive thread in your life that has always been there. Even if you couldn’t see it at the time—but only in retrospect—tell me about one thread that has woven through your life and
A Thread of Purpose Read More »
We spent the day in the walled city of Lucca today, an all day outing from our home base at the Villa. I spent the first couple of hours on a rented bike on top of the city’s walls, a 4.2 kilometer loop, then opted out of the group tour and wandered off on my
If you’ve been following my Tuscany Virtual Vacation blog for the last week, you might think all we do day after day is eat phenomenal food, look at remarkable beauty, and have amazing outings. But actually, we spend several hours in writing class every morning. Here’s one of the writing exercises I gave my students
More than Just Food Read More »
First course lunch: fennel salad Wine tasting at Sting’s villa winery. Tuscany, day 4.
Lunch and Sting’s Villa Read More »
