Category: creativity and learning
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On Talent
I first got the idea about two months ago to write a post exploring the relationship between creativity and talent. Following an insightful and thought-provoking conversation with Nitin from There Will Come Soft Rains, I sensed I was close to forming a definitive opinion on the subject, one that, falling line in with more traditional…
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Promenade
This post was formatted to reflect an original journal entry. 5/10/20 A slow, easy, reflective Sunday. Yoga and some much-needed outdoor time. I can’t wait to go camping. Soon. Have this grand idea of going off the grid for a little while. Heading up into the mountains and losing myself in the stillness. A reclamation of…
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On Fantasy
I’ve always been a daydreamer. In school, I was a quiet, bookish girl who spent much of her time staring out the window, doodling, or scribbling fragments of poems and short stories in a secret notebook. (How many other young writers kept secret notebooks—the ones you covertly slipped into your real notebook, so you could…
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On Reading
I am still deep into my quest for creative inspiration. And if I may say, I am enjoying the quest so much, I am not certain I want it to end. Indeed, I set out nearly two weeks ago, in the hopes of revivifying my poetry, to explore the world of Steampunk. Which has turned…
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On Novelty
I published a poem last night, titled “Mannequin Planet,” which I then deleted early this morning. I’m sorry about that. I am not normally so fickle, but I didn’t like it. I just couldn’t bring myself to like it. And I decided it wasn’t of the quality I want to publish here. The truth is…
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On Being a Novice
When I first started this blog in April 2017 I was not a poet. All of my activity on The Used Life was centered on posts like this one: those with a decidedly philosophical bent aimed at exploring the nuances of human creativity and the art of living. It wasn’t until later—sometime in early 2018—that…
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Fool’s Gold (A Letter to Tim)
This post is composed of excerpts from an email I sent to my friend, Tim, last week. Otherwise known formally as “T. Blake,” Tim is the artist who created the visual dimension of Seven Road. We correspond regularly about our work. About our creative struggles and achievements and, more importantly, about the spiritual dimension of…
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Closed Captions
This post is formatted to reflect an original journal entry. 12/10/19 I like that it’s a cozy, gray morning. Listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Mirage, drinking coffee, and revisiting Rollo May’s The Courage to Create. An observation: the artists I admire most have all cultivated such powerful and unique personal styles. Poets, visual artists, musicians, too.…
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On Being Alone
For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed being alone. Maybe it’s because I was an only child. Or perhaps it’s a matter of disposition. Or both. Whenever anyone asks me if I miss having a sibling, even now, I think, What a ridiculous question! A sibling would have inevitably interrupted my much-cherished…
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On Creative Limits
I haven’t experimented with collage work in awhile. Now that I am writing poetry rather comfortably and adventurously again, the urge to tinker with visual media has substantially diminished. Though not disappeared. I’ve got a stack of magazines and a folder full of clippings and other trinkets ready next time the mood strikes. What I…
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