Writing In Uncertain Times

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We live in unprecedented times. Pandemics, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, winter storms, political unrest, economic uncertainty and war are just some of the things we deal with daily. So why write through it?

Writing is important. As writers, we bear witness to what is going on in the world and write it down. It helps to put things into perspective and forms the basis of history. When we put our thoughts down on the page, it helps to give voice for those who may not be able to put it into words. It’s a comfort when we can form our feelings into writing that other people may read.

And when we write fantasy or fiction, we are allowing ourselves and others to get lost in escape. This is important in life also, especially when people are going through such massive upheavals. You can offer people relief though your literature.

Writers are sensitive to the world around them. This takes sympathy and empathy. Writers are empathetic to the suffering of others and can sometimes put this empathy into words and thus relieve the suffering. As writers, we have the gift of being able to put our feelings into words. Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” 

I’ll be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here on WordPress.

Book Launch by Tzivia Gover 6:30 pm January 11 at the Forbes Library, Northampton, MA on Dreams and Writing

BOOK LAUNCH EVENT AND CELEBRATION

Jan. 11, 6:30 -7:45, Forbes Library, Northampton, MA

Tap into Your Midnight Mind with Dreams and Writing

Learn how to use the science and psychology of sleep, dreams, and mindfulness to supercharge your creativity, and wake up to your best life with Tzivia Gover, Author of Dreaming on the Page: Tap into Your Midnight Mind to Supercharge Your Writing

Join us for a book launch and author talk about how anyone can benefit from the Dreaming on the Page method whether you remember your dreams or not, and whether or not you consider yourself a writer. Bring a pen and prepare to be inspired!

“In Dreaming on the Page Tzivia Gover provides a powerful set of tools to unleash your creativity, enhance your writing, and inspire your life.” Naomi Epel, author of Writers Dreaming

“With a warm, sure hand, Tzivia Gover guides readers through her ‘Dreaming on the Page’ process, serving up engaging historical and personal anecdotes alongside concrete advice and helpful writing prompts and exercises. Accessible and unfailingly encouraging, Dreaming on the Page proves that dreaming and writing are for everyone—and that when you combine the two, the result can be truly magical.”  Brooke Warner, Publisher of She Writes Press and author of Write On, Sisters!

Tzivia Gover is a certified dreamwork professional and the author of several books, including Dreaming on the Page, How to Sleep Tight Through the Night (with Lesléa Newman), and The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep, among others. Tzivia writes and dreams in western Massachusetts. Learn more at www.thirdhousemoon.com

Best Wishes for the New Year

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The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt.

The future has not yet happened. We each have a role in what it will hold.

For artists and writers, it springs from the imagination.

The world is filled with chaos, fighting, greed. For those who are kind and generous, humane and creative, put your energy out there to shape good things. May we each play our part—with gladness and gratitude—for the unfolding of a blessed future. 

I’ll be back in Costa Rica for the new year and will be blogging on from there on Thursdays. Follow me.

I am grateful to Poetry Super Highway for Making Me Poet of the Week on Poetry Super Highway December 26-January 1, 2023. Take a look during that week:

I am grateful to have been chosen “Poet of the Week” on the Poetry Super Highway. Check it out on December 26-January 1, 2023 for my poem “A Paddle Into Childhood.”

Happy New Year to All. I’ll see you again in 2023.

Thank You to Vita Brevis Press for Publishing Two of My Poems

I am grateful to Vita Brevis Press for publishing my poems:

3 a.m.

Respiratory

in What is All This Sweet Work?: A Poetry Anthology About Love and Loss (2022). Take a look.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Even if it’s not your tradition, it’s a day to be grateful and count your blessings.

I’m having guests, house guests and cooking a turkey dinner. I’m thankful for all of it.

I will blog again next Thursday, so follow me here.

Have a blessed, joyful day.

Reading Deprivation

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For writers, reading is a way of life. We read early and often. We read, we write. We check our media contacts, read newspapers or magazines online or in hard copy, then read a text of something similar to what we are working on in our own writing. If we stop reading, it’s deprivation.

It’s a paradox that by emptying our lives of all that text and distraction, we are actually refreshing the wellspring. By absenting ourselves from all the media, we get in touch with our inner selves, which is where all the creativity comes from. By keeping the inflow to a minimum, the outflow improves. Our true thoughts and feelings will begin to penetrate and come out in new writing, running freely. I knew a playwright who would take off his shoes and socks and stand in a running stream with a paper and pencil to literally get his flow going.

If you find not reading difficult, and many writers do, here are some suggestions:

.listen to music that has no words

.sew

.repot plants

.cook a complicated, time-consuming recipe and then

.invite friends to dinner

.watercolor

.rearrange the kitchen

.exercise

.meditate

.dance

After a number of these activities, sit down and write again. Notice any differences in your feelings or content. Your writing may benefit.

Follow me here on Thursdays.

Writers Read on October 23 in Ware, Massachusetts

There is going to be an in-person reading of prose and poetry at Grand Hall, Workshop 13 Cultural Arts and Learning Center in Ware, Massachusetts on Sunday, October 23 at 2 pm. If you’re in the area, do drop in. It’s right down Route 9, which is glorious fall now. Grand Hall is at 13 Church St. , Ware.

See Workshop13.org for more details.

In-Person Reading on 2 p.m. October 23rd at the Grand Hall, Workshop 13, Ware, Massachusetts

It has been awhile since I did an in-person reading, but if you are in Western Massachusetts on Sunday, October 23rd, I encourage you to come. The attached flyer has the details.

Thank You to the Massachusetts State Poetry Society for my Recent Awards from the National Poetry Day Contest

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I am grateful to the Massachusetts State Poetry Society for two awards in their National Poetry Day Contest:

My poem “Fairy Tale of Eternal Economic Growth” was awarded third prize by the Amy L. Dengler Award.

My poem “On Listening to Stravinsky’s Pulcinella” was awarded third prize by the Celebration of Life Award.

I’ll be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here on WordPress.