I have not meant to neglect you. It has been so very hard, this past school year, to find a rhythm that works for my writing schedule.
This is about to change.
This past week, I went to Esalen in Big Sur, California, to attend a 5-day Writer's Camp workshop called "The Story You Have To Tell," led by a writer who was hugely influential in my decision to create and my choices in writing this here blog, Cheryl Strayed.
You may have read Cheryl Strayed's novel, Torch, or read her memoir or seen it on the big screen last year: Wild. For my money, though, her best work was as the anonymous Dear Sugar advice columnist for TheRumpus.net, where she wrote, among many other wonderful things, the column that you will find at the following link-- AND SHOULD READ AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, but somewhere discreet and with a box of tissues handy:
Dear Sugar #78: The Obliterated Place
That right there, friends? That is a writer's masterwork. That is perfection on a page. That is immortality in print. That is why I found my nerve and paid my money and took myself to Esalen next week: to sit in Cheryl Strayed's company and commune with her over words that make a difference when it matters.
The great news is, that was merely the beginning.
I have much to tell you about my adventures at Esalen. This post was originally written the week before I left to tell you I was going, but I didn't get it out in time, and then I wasn't able to send it while I was there. I'm sending it now to tell you that I'm back, and I'm getting a post together to tell you about what's happened lately and what happened at Esalen and what will be happening in the coming months.
It's gonna be good. I've got a lot of living to do.
You may have read Cheryl Strayed's novel, Torch, or read her memoir or seen it on the big screen last year: Wild. For my money, though, her best work was as the anonymous Dear Sugar advice columnist for TheRumpus.net, where she wrote, among many other wonderful things, the column that you will find at the following link-- AND SHOULD READ AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, but somewhere discreet and with a box of tissues handy:
Dear Sugar #78: The Obliterated Place
That right there, friends? That is a writer's masterwork. That is perfection on a page. That is immortality in print. That is why I found my nerve and paid my money and took myself to Esalen next week: to sit in Cheryl Strayed's company and commune with her over words that make a difference when it matters.
The great news is, that was merely the beginning.
I have much to tell you about my adventures at Esalen. This post was originally written the week before I left to tell you I was going, but I didn't get it out in time, and then I wasn't able to send it while I was there. I'm sending it now to tell you that I'm back, and I'm getting a post together to tell you about what's happened lately and what happened at Esalen and what will be happening in the coming months.
It's gonna be good. I've got a lot of living to do.
