The Literary Sipper

Whether it be a towering stack on your night table like mine, its own pristine bookshelf in your library, or a haphazard list in the back of your planner, what you read next can be a hard choice. In this week’s episode, I let you in on my future choices, and then we get to see if I actually get to those books or if i get sidetracked by new shiny ones beckoning me from my local indie.Let me know what’s on your TBR list, so I can add it to mine.x ALinks referenced in this episode:Let Go and BeginCompanies mentioned in this episode: Seattle Wave Books

Companies mentioned in this episode: Nook Kindle Harlequin Outlander Bridget Jones's Diary Marion Keyes Daisy Jones and the Six Normal People Sally Rooney Gabrielle Zevin Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Jenny Colgan Joanne Harris Chocolat Emily Henry The Kissing Quotient Helen Huang Where the Crawdads Sing This Tender Land 0I4jNHB0UlLTlBuv2eAT

Valentine’s Day is coming and whether or not you celebrate or believe in the commercial nature of holidays, I am all for a reason to look at poetry about love. And if February makes me feel all the feels, then poetry in February is one way to escalate all of those feelings. Today, we look at three relatively modern ones. I mean within the last 20 years. We don’t need to go all the way back to Sappho or WH Auden to find the best romantic descriptions. Poetry lives and breathes as a reflection of our own times.Here are the three I read:Poem for My Love, June JordanFilling Spice Jars as Your Wife, Kai CogginsThe Hush of the Very Good, Todd BossWhat are your favorites?x A

Well, here we are again. It’s cold out, the sun may or may not be shining, the holidays have finished, you may or may not have put away all of the decorations. So now what? People tell you it’s time for arbitrary resolutions and a push towards productivity. But the winter season says it’s time to slow down, make friends with the darkness, and look inward.But you do you.And if you want to do you with others, Tania (taniawalshyoga.com) and I are running our Winter Workshop on January 30, 2025 and registration is open at letgoandbegin.com.We would love to see you there.And for those who come for books, here are the three I have going at the moment:Yoga and Ayurveda, David FrawleyI Have Some Questions For You, Rebecca MakkaiGhost Girl, Banana, Wiz Whartonx AShare

It’s the end of another year, folks. And it’s time to recap 2024 and all of the reading I managed to do.Here are a few of the books I highlighted for you to check out:James by Percival EverettDracula by Bram StokerSignal Fires by Dani ShapiroThe Mighty Red by Louise Erdricha...

Get your last minute shopping done at the bookstore. Live by the mantra: one book for you, one for me.It’s what you want for Christmas anyway.And whenever possible, shop local.Merry Merry.x A

In our Let Go and Begin workshops, Tania Walsh and I always start with the symbol of the doorway. Are you closing a door, opening a new one to a room you’ve never entered, or revisiting a dusty room that needs a good airing out?This idea came to me after reading Donald Justice’s poem “Men at 40”. I loved the metaphor of the “softly closed door”. I felt incredible empathy for these men who now looked at their life’s choices and could see that they would no longer be able to take these roads that led to frontiers of the self or make the choices that would take them away from their life as it stood in the moment of mid-life. They did not slam them, or shut them emphatically, but with a whisper of a close, maybe the door didn’t even make the click to let him know that it was fully shut. I related to their suffering to the lost lives or hopes or dreams and I always equated those dreams with artistic ones. The idea of being a road musician, or a fine arts painter, or a nomad who made his living off of acting, writing, drawing.I encourage you all to do the guided journaling questions included in this week’s episode and to, of course, follow us on Instagram to be kept apprised of our 2025 workshop dates.Read the poem here.Follow Let Go and Begin here.Drop in on one of Tania’s yoga classes here.x A

When I am unsure of what’s to come, I turn to poetry. When I feel sad, I turn to poetry. When I feel lost, in love, overburdened, underwhelmed, dazzled or dreary, I turn to poetry.After the election, these three poems filled the void.Anne Waldman’s “Crack in the World”Maggie Smith’s “Good Bones”Nikki Grimes’ “You Still Dream”What poems have you turned to this November?Let me know in the comments!x A

Do you have friends who are ten years older than you?What about ten years younger?Diversity is also about age. Understanding the generations that bookend yours is more than just reading the myriad memes on the subject. It requires an open hear and a generous ear.If we want to honor the classics and expand the canon, we need to broaden the audience.x A

You are an artist. Plan your day accordingly.Micro Plan and Macro Plan.Then be ready for it all to change in a moment.Do your best and make sure to make room for your creative life.x AHere is the episode on planning your retreat!

When you select your next book, might I suggest you stray a bit from your preferred genre? Try some poetry, a thriller, historical fiction, memoir. Try something you don’t usually reach for. As the days get darker and shorter, we may find ourselves wanting the familiar, the cozy book that echoes the way we hope to spend our time. However, it may be a great time to get yourself tucked in with some tea, but let your brain go on an adventure.Here are some links to some of the books I mention, the Libby App, and my fall reading guide:James by Percival EverettBridget Jones’ Diary, Helen FieldingThe Booker Prize ShortlistThe Libby AppThe Fall Reading Guidex A

While we all know that looking at art makes us feel something, we get caught up in figuring out the right meaning. What are we “supposed” to see becomes more important than what we are, in fact, seeing. Make sure to spend time looking, seeking, observing, connecting to the visual. It will help you make sense of the world, no matter what your preferred medium may be.Here is the link to the Colin Davidson Show “Silent Testimony”Here is the link to Alex Gray’s The Mission of ArtHere is the link to the work of art that I am fixated on at the momentx A

We are all looking to retreat from the pressures of this election season that’s for sure. Have you made actual plans to do so? To take time away and delve into your creative self? You could finish your draft, you can dive into meditation or yoga to find your center. You could surround yourself with other artists for inspiration. You could learn a new skill or technique to add to your arsenal.Learn to Re-TREAT yourself.What would fill you up? Take time to think about it and then put it on your calendar.Here is the link to the Writer’s Refuge on Whidbey Island for any of you who are looking for a Thoreau type experience. Close enough to the town to get a good meal, but remote enough to immerse yourself in the season.x AWe still have room in our October 12 workshop! You can retreat for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning!Here is the link!

Take your time to write a real, live, gorgeous, letter today. To someone. Anyone. Get a stamp. Mail it. Then do it again. And then, when you’re ready to read some gorgeous letters, try these on for size:EB White’s Lettersvan Gogh’s LettersO’Keefe and Stieglitz LettersHere is a link to the Steinbeck letter I read and the Dostoevsky letter I didn’t.And if you want to be extra sweet, write a review for my wherever you listen to this podcast.x A

Get to those bookstores, people. It is time. Time for tea and time for books. My favorite time.Let me know what you are reading. Let me know what you are sipping.Here is the link to the Fall Reading Guide.x A

Don’t let the stores fool you, you still HAVE TIME! Four more months remain until the new year. What were those resolutions you made around reading last year? Can you add something new to your fall reading? Can you play with when you read? What you are reading? How you are sharing your finds?Let me know what goals you want to reignite as we move towards 2025.And if you haven’t take a look at my Fall Reading Guide for inspiration.And as always, let me know what you are reading!I am reading Angie Kim’s Happiness Falls!x A

Welcome back to The Literary Sipper!I didn’t mean to take such a long summer break. But, alas, it is what it is. We had a lot of travel this summer, and like many, my creative goals took a backseat. I did plenty of reading and writing though, so we will touch on that in future episodes. As a former teacher, September feels like the new year, anyway!The goals this year are to deliver a weekly podcast for you and a bi-weekly Top 5 Sips to your inbox.This week we are talking decluttering and I highly recommend Gretchen Rubin’s book Outer Order, Inner Calm if you haven’t already gotten it! I don’t mention it in the episode, but I think it is a great read to get started on any organizing project!Talk soon!x A

What are your creative rituals? Do you light candles, only write in the morning, pair your dance practice with your afternoon coffee? How do you let your brain know that it is time to plant the seeds of your latest venture? Do you have different rituals for exploration and other ones for polishing, editing, and the work of being an artist in the modern world: newsletters, mailing lists, wuery letters, connecting with fellow artists or your audience? This week we get into the concept of rituals and of course if you haven’t investigated Mason Currey’s books or his Substack, here is your sign to do so.x A

A deep dive into the summer reading guide I put out a couple of weeks ago. You can listen to me give spoiler free summaries for some of them and a rationale for how I organized the rest.But what I really want are pictures of your tote bags full of books!Currently Reading: Let Us Descend, Jesmyn WardHappy Summer everyone. x A

The feeling that we are all shouting into the void is pervasive in art making. Why does it matter? Who is even listening? Why should I even sit down and write or draw or make something from nothing?I refer you to a one Mr. Jeff Tweedy in his wonderful book, How to Write One Song. In the very first page of the book, before he even gets to page one, chaper one. he writes: “We have a choice — to be on the side of creation, or surrender to the powers that destroy.” I can think of no better reminder than that.You matter. Your art matters. Now get on with it.x A