Find the Buzz of Inspiration (Amber Intro) (10/09/2021)

A recap of the week's writing at Atticus Review. Intro by Amber Shockley.

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Months ago, freshly and fully vaccinated, I was sitting in the exquisitely decorated front room of a celebrated poet and artist. Twenty years previous, I’d had the good luck to call her my professor. Today, I have the immense privilege of calling her my friend. Her home is a lavish collection of art, literature, heirlooms and plants, curated by her eclectic, sensitive and keen eye. In fact, I often have trouble keeping eye contact during our chats, as I’m drawn to marvel at some gorgeous flower, cushion or accoutrement I’ve just noticed. When I leave her home, I always have that buzz of creative energy I get from interaction with great art, great artists. I couldn’t see her during the pre-vaccination pandemic, of course. And recent visits have been bittersweet, as she’ll soon be leaving her home, coinciding with the next stage of her extraordinary, well-lived life. She mentions working on a last book of poetry, and continuing to paint. Cleaning out her home, she gave me a few of her paintings, which I cherish and, honestly, feel unworthy to possess. To say I respect and admire her would be an understatement. And, as is often the case with the admirable, she is generous with her interest in others. Unfailingly, she asks me if, and what, I am writing. I gave her a brief plot overview for the novel I’ve been "working on" for the last few years. She smiled, and with genuine urging said, "Oh! You have to write it!" That day, I left her home with an extra buzz of inspiration, and hope. I was galvanized again toward the hard, long work of writing.Some quotes: "Writing is a lonely job." - Isaac Asimov"Writing is a lonely business." - Sherman Alexie"Writing, at its best, is a lonely life." - Ernest Hemingway"Writing is the lonely sport of sad sacks." - Lauren Groff"Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don't have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough." - Stephen KingMy past several weeks have been dismal. Pandemic-dismal, but also, extraneous-to-the-pandemic dismal. Illness and death have popped up like whack-a-mole over the last two years, but recently my shoulder hurts, my arm is weak, and my little black mallet seems a ridiculous weapon. I’m worn down. I haven’t had enough energy, creative or otherwise, for the lonely sport of sad sacks. I’ve been benched.Let me state this clearly: I am suffering a major depressive episode. Even if I’m not writing, being welcomed into creative homes and spaces, being asked what I’m writing, being still seen and treated like a writer means so much. I can not emphasize enough how much it matters. (I tried with italics.) Reciting my plotline helps me remember writing. It fires a little neuron that glides along a path in my brain that isn’t despair or dismay. On my behalf, and the behalf of us all, I urge you: Check on your writer friends. If safe (vaccinated, masked), invite them to your home. Ask them what they are writing. Share your own art. Be the person who believes in another person’s work. Keep sparking and seeking that precious buzz of inspiration and hope. We all need it, always.Thanks for reading. We're glad you're here.Amber ShockleyAssistant Poetry Editor

Our Reading List is updated each week. Go check it out!Are you a contributor to Atticus Review who'd like your book featured in the reading list? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

FICTIONWINNER'S CIRCLEby Andrew R. Touhy"The tortoise came in first and so must be hanged. Grudgingly we saddle our horses, rope at the ready. What is there to do but hang such a tortoise?"READ ON

POETRYPOR LOS SUENOS DULCEby Katherine Soniat"From down the hall comes the smell of stew,a domestic porridge, and I want you, the fatherof my children, not to die. I promise to stay on the roadwith our basket of picnic food."READ ON

CREATIVE NONFICTIONMASTER KIMby John Kim"Every time someone asked me if I knew Karate, I said no, and I liked being able to say no. It filled me with immense satisfaction to not fit the stereotype in their heads. Not knowing Karate felt like a fuck you to them."READ ON

MIXED MEDIATHREE POEMS (DISRUPTED)by Christian Bancroft"These poems are from a longer manuscript, A Ghost Has No Fantasies, and are engaged with bringing to light and reframing the persecution of gay men and lesbians during the Holocaust. As an example of docupoetry, the poems are found texts, assembled from memoirs, first-hand accounts, and archival documents—all written by these men and women."READ ON

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