Trigger Warning: This installment is collaborative; although both authors encourage readers to care for their emotional and spiritual well-being, this isn't a sermon and it should not be construed as proselytizing.
Hi Friends:
Because writer’s block is exemplified by apathy, this issue includes:
A sip…
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the muse questions the need for Flesh & Blood…
A shout out…
If one doubts the wisdom of youth, author, curator, educator, lecturer, and poet, Cole Arthur Riley, is proof of the need to shore up conviction.
Self-described as quiet and comforted by writing, she is the brainchild who combined her desire for an authentic spiritual space with her love of literary legends and birthed a six-figure virtual community.
A liturgist who advocates for resonating with the larger container of spiritual life, and the author of the New York Times bestseller, This Here Flesh, she is also a proponent of becoming our historian by practicing collective memory.
A creative with the passion to refute attempts to define her beliefs or fears, she credits her father and grandmother with introducing her to a love of words, and amongst others, includes Audre (Lorde), Maya (Angelou), Octavia (Butler), and Toni (Morrison) as some of her thinker influences.
A sentence…
Prompts inspired by This Here Flesh:
“On the day that the world began to die, God became a seamstress.”
“It takes time to undo the whiteness of God. When I speak of whiteness, I am referring not to the mere existence of a person in a particular body; I am referring to the historic, systemic, and sociological patterns that have oppressed, killed, abducted, abused, and discredited those who do not exist in a particular body. Whiteness is a force.”
“I’ve accepted that the whole of my life will be a pilgrimage toward the sound of the genuine in me. This may sound troubling to those who’ve been conditioned to believe that our journey is to God and God alone, but I say the two paths are one. My journey to the truth of God cannot be parsed from my journey to the truth of who I am. A fidelity to the true self is a fidelity to truth. I won’t apologize for this.”
“Our situation today shows that beauty demands for itself at least as much courage and decision as do truth and goodness, and she will not allow herself to be separated and banned from her two sisters without taking them along with herself in an act of mysterious vengeance. We can be sure that whoever sneers at her name as if she were the ornament of a bourgeois past—whether he admits it or not—can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love.”
“Wonder then is a force of liberation, it makes sense of what our souls inherently know we were meant for. Every mundane glimpse is salve on a wound, instructions for how to set the bone right again. If you really want to get free, find God on the subway, find God in the soap bubble. Me, I meet God in the taste of my grandma’s chicken, I hear God in the raspy leather of Nina Simone’s voice, I see the face of God in the boney teenager bagging my groceries and why shouldn't I? My faith is held together by wonder, by ever-defined commitment to presence and paying attention.”
A few useful tips…
On writing to elucidate beauty:
Be bold and vivid.
Take your time, algorithms can wait.
Use brevity when describing physical traits.
Spend time with the work and art of others.
Remember, there is no one “most beautiful” anything.
Never be ashamed to characterize an empathetic heart.
Simplicity is best when illustrating beauty within, and the beautiful.
A few contests/competitions…
The Letter Review Prize for Poetry
The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction
A residency opportunity…
The Tower Stories Writer in Residence
A freelance opportunity…
Hinge is seeking freelancers.
A few submission opportunities…
Consequence Magazine seeks non-fiction submissions that address the human experiences, realities, and consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art.
The Good Literary Agency is open to adult fiction and non-fiction submissions.
Griffith Review seeks fiction and nonfiction submissions on the ‘Status Anxiety’ theme.
Herstry is accepting Coming of Age submissions.
Longreads accepts personal essays, reported personal essays, and reading list pitches.
One More Chapter is open to full-length fiction, non-fiction, and creative non-fiction submissions.
Solarpunk Magazine is accepting work for Colorful Roots, an all-BIPOC issue.
Speculation Publication seeks fiction and poetry retellings of Grimm Fairy Tales in the horror or dark fantasy genres.
A few sessions & workshops…
April 9th
Creative Therapeutic Expression – Writing for Your Mental Health
April 10th
April 11th
April 12th
Around the World in 24-Writing Hours
April 13th
April 14th
April 15th
Ongoing
A few virtual critique groups…
Chaulk Scribblers Critique Groups
Tucson Fantasy & Sci-Fi Writing Group
A few virtual book clubs…
Black Girl Read Virtual Book Club
Disability Dialogues Book Club
Tuesday Evening Virtual Book Club
And a final thought…
This installment is a collaborative effort; the featured author, prompts, and tips offer a unique exploration into the interconnected love of God and self and were generously selected by
and to continue slowly exploring eclectic natural love subscribe to:It also contains an affiliate link; I earn commissions when you purchase books using that link, or you may please buy me a coffee.
Thanks for reading,