Is Your Writing a Need? (Amber Intro)

Is Your Writing a Need? | The Weekly Atticus

April 18, 2020

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

Over the last several weeks, communities across the world have been stripped back to the minimum required to meet our most basic needs – food, shelter, water. Simultaneous to our immense grief is a growing sense of gratitude for grocery store clerks, garbage collectors, nurses and first responders. Shelter-in-place and shutdown orders, the pausing of commerce and travel, have led to reflection on the true value, meaning and effects of our usual pursuits, our usual way of life.  

So, then, we come once again to a full understanding of what we need and long for most – bread, water, touch. Words? In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, words don’t register until perhaps the second tier is reached – after establishing health and safety we may move on to address psychological needs, which might involve communication. Human history seems to back this up. It wasn’t until after we settled down from hunting and gathering, established farms where we planted seed and raised cattle, that our hands stopped shaking enough to hold the first iteration of a pen and write.

On social media, I’ve seen some sending out rallying cries to continue producing music, art, poems, stories. In the midst of this pandemic, this panic, there are some who are beating the drum of productivity:

We must write to keep ourselves sane. We must write to document what is happening. We must write because others need us to keep writing.

I’ve also seen a bit of blowback in response to this pressure. Many amongst us are consumed with the worry of surviving this outbreak, with our own health, and with the health of those we love. Survival looks like driving to several stores in one trip to gather enough resources for our families, or calling and calling again until a parent or friend picks up the phone and says, “Yes, I’m okay. No, I haven’t gone out. Yes, I’ll wear a mask.”

Day to day, our needs do not necessarily adhere to a strict timeline. Last week, my mind was filled with the need to make plans for having enough insulin on hand for a diabetic pet. Today, I needed a silent, early-morning moment with a book on the history of religion. Tomorrow, I’ll likely need to hear the voices of people I love. That need, I find, is every day.

Some days, I find that I write. It doesn’t feel like a need. It is, absolutely, a privilege. It is a choice. During this time, it is a choice among many other choices, as we all work to meet our needs as individuals, as families, as communities. 

Above all, I feel like it is important now to make the choices that take care of you and those you love. If writing is a part of that choice, I celebrate it. But most of all, in this moment, I celebrate all the choices and brave acts that make up the human determination to survive.

Stay safe out there. Thanks for reading. We're glad you're here.

Amber Shockley

Assistant Poetry Editor

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

BOOK REVIEWTHE MALLEABLE NATURE OF ADULTHOODA Review of CONFESSIONS OF A BAREFACED WOMAN by Allison JosephReview By Natalie Berger"The poems sing in unison about the confines of beauty, the delight of words, the disappointments of adulthood."GET THE BOOKREAD THE REVIEW

FICTIONLAST LATE SHIFT AT THE DRIVE-THROUGHby Heather Bell Adams "Tonight she’s got Bon Jovi playing in the car... She’s swaying back and forth and letting her eyes fall shut. I worry she’ll drive off with her eyes still closed."READ ON

POETRYFIREPLACEby Michele Sharpe"The grate is empty, the urn is full.His ashes scatter under the banana trees.Rain dissolves fine particles, but notthe shards that passed on through."READ ON

CREATIVE NONFICTIONBALLOON ANIMALSby Corey Miller "I looked for my body pillow that was adorned with cartoon zoo animals: lions, giraffes, zebras, and monkeys separated throughout the jungle. It felt soft and impeded my nightmare..." READ ON

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