#poetry

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Meditating and Writing

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Many writers are also meditators. Some even write about the relationship between writing and mediation. I am a meditator and a writer. I meditate in the morning and write in the morning. I also practice yoga. To me, these are all intertwined.

The U.S. alone has an estimated 36 million yoga practitioners. It has adapted to local socio-political and cultural norms world over so much so that it can hardly be called an Indian custom. Yoga originated in India. The system of yoga has physical, mental, and emotional dimensions in addition to spiritual underpinnings. But yoga is not a religion. It has no dogma. But the practice for me is essential to my writing and brings me to a place where I can write truth.

Meditation helps improve focus. Something essential for the good writer. I began meditating years ago with a meditation method popular at that time, Transcendental Meditation. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi developed this mantric method of meditation in the 50’s in India, and it spread widely throughout the world. For me, it was a good place to learn the technique, but my meditation practice evolved when I combined meditation with yoga, especially Kundalini. Kundalini is a spiritual energy or life force located at the base of the spine, conceptualized as a coiled serpent. It didn’t matter which type of meditation I was using, as long as it focused my mind and enabled me to write from that place.

Meditation provides a safe space to be. Meditation slows the world down to make room for creative thought and exploration. It’s an ideal practice for the writer or artist. I meditated every day when I worked on my latest manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth.

Have you had experiences with writing and meditation?

I will be taking a hiatus for March, as I travel through Costa Rica. Look for me again in April.

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I’m Grateful to Starry Starry Kite for Publishing Three of my Ekphrastic Poems that Responded to Three Paintings by Irene Christensen. Here’s One:

I Feel Close to Nature Too

I feel close to nature too

earth moves in the hot sky

green leaves grow my hair

mountains erupt my skin

when you step on me I cry

I feel close to nature too

my eyes wash blue seashells 

my face erodes sand from the shore

ground has no home for living

suffocating in a polluted candy corn sky 

I feel close to nature too

writhing, dying in the heat

a red leaf dragon swallows

the trees growing in the night forest

I must preserve the charging planet beast

I feel close to nature too

About the Poet

Eileen P. Kennedy is the author of two collections of poetry: Banshees (Flutter Press, 2015), which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won Second Prize in Poetry from the Wordwrite Book Awards, and Touch My Head Softly (Finishing Line Press, 2021) which Literary Titan has described as “emotionally-charged poetry that explores life with observant poems that will appeal to anyone who loves inspired poetry.” It was a finalist for the International Book Awards in General Poetry. She lives in Amherst, MA with the ghost of Emily Dickinson. More at www.EileenPKennedy.om. 

About the Artist

Irene Christensen’s art is about painting as a magical act. Her images repeat and are transformed, as words and images in poems. She likes to maintain a sense of wonder in her art. That life is strange and quirky, and contradictory, that tragedy and comedy are not played out in separate theaters, but co-exist, side by side. More at ireneartster.wordpress.com

Check out the poems on Starry Starry Kite https://www.lindacastronovo.com/theonlinejournal

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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.

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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.

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Radio Interview About the Writers Read Reading for Workshop 13

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I’m happy to have a radio interview to talk about the Writers Read Reading at 2 pm on Sunday, October 23rd at Workshop 13, 13 Church St., Ware, Massachusetts.

Stephanie Shafran and I will be interviewed and reading poetry for Tommy Twilight’s Twilight Poetry Pub on WXOJ-FM, Valley Free Radio on Tuesday, October 11 at 8 pm (EDT.)

Listen

Listen in.

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End of Summer Musings

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I’m writing to you from my summer home in New England. As a retired college professor, summer is my favorite time. It always represented freedom to me.

I love fresh vegetables, beautiful flowers, farmer’s markets and stands, swimming in cool lakes.

But my favorite thing to do is to go to a local bookstore that’s located in an old mill with a stream running by it. I feel like my creativity flows more easily with the flowing stream. I knew a playwright who would stand in the stream and write with a pen and paper to get the creativity flowing?

Now that summer is coming to an end, I will look for new inspirations for my writing. What do you do for inspiration?

I will be blogging regularly one Thursdays again, with announcements, as they happen, on Tuesdays. Follow me here on WordPress.

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Using the Library for Writing

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I was struggling with writing a poem about a historical incident. I just couldn’t find a way into the poem. I tried locking myself in my study, ignoring the phone when it rang, procrastinating with housework, but nothing worked.

Then a writer friend of mine made a suggestion. Go to the Library. I live in Massachusetts where every town has a town library, but it just didn’t occur to me. I’ve read many articles and blogs on how to focus as a writer, but I hadn’t tried my local library.

I organized my writing materials as best I could, convinced I would leave important things at home that I would need there. I allowed for time to get to and from the library (about eight minutes each way. ) I carried my computer and notes to the car and set off.

When I arrived there, I found a lovely place to sit, a desk with partitions that actually blocked me from other desks. It was quiet and I easily tuned my computer into the wifi, and soon enough I was writing a rough draft. I came to a point where I needed to confirm some historical information, and the reference librarian was at the ready to help.

I wound up bringing the draft home and finishing it there. I recently submitted the poem. I don’t know if it will be accepted, but at least I finished it and it’s off my desk.

I’ll be blogging on Thursdays and doing announcements on Tuesdays as they come along. Follow me.

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How Does a Writer Decide on the Next Project?

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When you finish a manuscript, there is usually a down time for reflection, but then, as a writer, you need to start on a new project. I find this phase challenging because I often have many ideas percolating, but don’t know which one to choose to pursue. It’s a commitment.

There’s not enough time to pursue all my ideas, so the issue is which projects to pursue and which to pass by, maybe forever. So I ask myself, is this the right concept for a poem, narrative for a story?

There’s a project that’s right for you, and only you can find it. I recently published a book of poetry and now I am in search of a project. Check out my book at:

https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/touch-my-head-softly-by-eileen-kennedy/

I will continue to blog about the writing process on Thursdays and blog announcements, if I have any, on Tuesdays.

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Writing as an Antidote to a Crumbling World

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I woke up last night in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep, war on my mind. The new poem I had written that day needed a title. I got out of bed and added the title to the poem.

This act of writing can be a savior in these dark times. The writing is a form of sanity for me. If I am writing about current events or not, it is a way of keeping myself focussed on something positive.

My creative visualizations are on world peace these days. My creative writing takes me anywhere it leads me.

I will continue to blog on Thursdays, with announcements on Tuesdays.

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So Grateful for Emily-Jane Hills Oxford’s Review of Touch My Head Softly (Finishing Line Press, 2021)

I so appreciate the thoughtful review Emily-Jane Hills Oxford gave my book in Reader’s Favorites:

“This is a passionate and engaging read, one that will strike a chord with many, as Alzheimer’s, like cancer, has affected most families in one way or another. It’s a powerful tribute to who have and are suffering and those who care. Stunningly, sublimely beautiful.”

https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/touch-my-head-softly-by-eileen-kennedy/