Dear Reader

A Conversation between us

Just when I think I’ve thought of all the “C Words” to share with you, I come across an article that strikes a chord in my soul and briefly uses a C word in a way that has so much meaning for me I just have to discuss it with you today.

Emily Perkins is an award winning New Zealand writer. And it’s her speech, delivered at a recent Wellington Event for ‘All in for Arts’: He waka toi e eke noa nei tātou’, an event series by The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi and Creative New Zealand, that made me think. You can listen to her speech (korero) here. Or read it here.

I hope you read or listen to her speech because I can’t do justice to all she said here, especially as I’m picking out only one of the “C Words” she uses. What are her words? Those relevant to our recent discussions include: Control. Connection. Creativity. Consciousness. Community. But the one I’ve chosen today is:

Conversation

Emily writes of what it’s like for her to be a writer, what formed her love of language. And whether we are writers or readers, I’m sure we all find something that resonates with ourselves in these words:

“I am not some solo, self-sufficient artist with a vocation, who was always going to make work against the odds. I’m a former goofy, sometimes lonely kid whose feelings were met and imagination stimulated by the stories in books. It wasn’t all comfort and escape, I read about hard things, 20th century horrors, grief, loss, and survival. Books by [NZ writers] Patricia Grace, Maurice Gee and Margaret Mahy placed me here and gave me a sense of where I lived. And books multiplied the world, as they do, endlessly. I write to be in active conversation with the world – to find meaning and pleasure … I love the way writing gets me to stop and pay attention – to really feel alive … It goes back to that feeling I had as a kid that books were portals, that holding one was like holding possibility in your hands.”

I love those words “… to be in active conversation with the world …” What does it mean to me, to be in active conversation? Books have always been a way I’ve connected with the world. But it wasn’t until I attended university in my mid 30s that I realised the power the written word has to shape my life. I was reading George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss and found myself bawling my eyes out. She was writing my story, describing my emotions and experiences. I felt vindicated in my vulnerability to being known so well.

George Eliot spoke to me. She wrote so that I felt like I was in conversation with her. I can’t compare my own writing to that of George Eliot. What I do know is that when I write, and this refers to my newsletters at this point, I am in conversation with you – I’m thinking of you and talking with you as I type these words.

I’m in conversation with nature when we walk along the river bank and come across a familiar view, but, bathed in the autumn light, it becomes a view I’ve never seen before. I wish I could share those moments when they happen. Photos are a wonderful medium for conversation.

And here’s another photo, taken when we passed the old gum (eucalyptus) tree on our familiar walk to Chartwell Mall. It also became something I felt like I was seeing for the first time, reaching out, beckoning me to embrace its autumn beauty with my soul.

The river, the gum tree, people in the cafe who catch my eye and smile – all inspire me “to find meaning and pleasure, to stop and pay attention – to really feel alive” within the frame of all the elements that make up my life. And will these elements and feelings find their way into my larger writing projects?

I’m sure they will because I am aware that the writing is also a conversation I’m having with you – through the two pieces I’ve committed to writing this year. I don’t often share my works in progress. It’s part of my commitment to ‘writing to you’ more often that I want to share them today.

Works in Progress

I’m drafting two manuscripts simultaneously. Two ongoing conversations at the same time. I’m not sure I can pull this off, but I’m enjoying the process of flitting between the two.

Project A

I love mysteries and so I am writing in that genre. I think my subject matter has the bones of a story worth telling, but that just might be my imagination at work! Time will tell.

My experience that is the basis for my memoir An Addict in the Family prompted a lot of ‘what if?’ questions that developed into an outline for a story set here in Hamilton. My love of our local cafe created the setting for a flow of information and introduction to characters. And one of our favourite walks is the setting for the scene of the crime. Characters are sketched from those I know, but their actions and motives are definitely not drawn from life! If this story sees the light of day in the form of a book it will be because of the generosity of those who are willing to share their expertise. And from the depth of conversation we will have in the Facebook Readers Group as I share excerpts.

Project B

The other piece I’m writing is exciting because it’s another memoir. The recent discovery of my Australian Indigenous heritage has placed me in the centre of nine generations – four before who I know a little about and whose names I now know. It excites me to see similarities of experiences and strengths and interests through the generations and this is what I’m writing about, using my own life experiences to illustrate these points. And there are four generations that come after me, who have a bit of my DNA running through their veins. Currently these four generations are comprised of 59 awesome, wonderful humans who inspire me to tell my story because it’s their story too and I hope they can enter into their own conversation with the characters in this book.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of this writing project with you, and also in the Facebook Readers Group, as it progresses.

Book Review

Dot & Ben by Pat Backley

I loved this book and gave it 5 stars on Amazon. I’d love to share a bit of this review and hope you will take a peek at my review of this 20th Century Love Story, about Pat’s parents. Here’s a link to the review.

An excerpt from my review:

Pat Backley uses the lives of her parents to form the basis of her novel Dot & Ben. I like this way of telling a family story, as a novel based on fact. And it suits this story admirably, especially since Pat attributes feelings and motives to her parents that it would be quite hard to substantiate as a daughter. And that’s how I feel were I to tell the story of my own parents’ lives. I have no doubt though that the essence of Pat’s parents, particularly of her mother, Dot, is captured faithfully.
The story is set against the background of World War 11 Britain during which both Dot and Ben fought. Dot had dreams of travelling, having adventures and writing, of having a ‘glorious life’ once the war was over. So she may have done if she hadn’t met Ben. …

You might even like to buy the book. It’s generously available on kindle for 99c until the end of May! Enjoy!

Till next time,
Love
Stephanie

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My thoughts for Living Life in 2024 and beyond:

“Write it on my heart that every day is
the best day of the year”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Remember that sometimes not getting
what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck”
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Dalai Lama

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave [person] is not [the one] who does not feel afraid, but [the one] who conquers that fear.”

Nelson Mandela

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