It’s Sunday morning and the heat has finally broken.
I’ve been thinking about this Substack all week but frankly, my thoughts aren’t getting any more brilliant, so I’m just going with it. Why start this now? I’ve thought about it for over a year. (Three?) A place to share nerdy poetry thoughts, and nerdy plant thoughts, and because, as a wise meme on the internet told me, What are you going to do to piss off capitalism today?
1. Deliciousness
So first, let’s talk about something delicious. I wish I knew who to give credit to for this recipe, but it was one person in a day-long workshop many years ago and while I wrote down the recipe, I failed to write down their name. Oh, creator of recipe magic, we thank you, whoever you are.
My favorite recipes have a certain amount of wiggle room. For this one, you can use a bunch of parsley, or a bunch of cilantro. The wild greens are whatever you have in your yard, if you have any. I often use dandelion, violet leaves, mint, or sheep sorrel. If it’s January and you have none, it will still be tasty. If you don’t have dulse, that’s fine too. Put a bunch of herbs in there and blend it up. It’s going to be amazing. (And yes, all my well-loved recipes look this splattered).
Basically, put the above ingredients into a blender and blend. Then eat. How much of each, you say? I really want to encourage you to play with it, but I know that can be stressful, too, so here’s about what I use, to get you started.
2 bunches cilantro or parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
half a lemon’s juice
1 tsp honey
small piece of dulse (like the size of a postage stamp)
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp miso
2. The Bat Tower
There’s a lot of mystique about writers writing on their own, in a room at the top of a little tower. There are a lot of bats involved, and dramatic sighs. The truth is, writers need people, and life. And salad dressing. And brownies.
Writers need other writers, and writers also definitely need people in their life who aren’t writers. So if you’re not a writer, I hope you feel welcome here, too.
3. Keep Going
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about feedback. I have some wonderful, beloved trusted readers who I show my writing to in its zygote stage. And I have writers I take my work to when I’m ready for someone to give it a haircut.
Sometimes getting feedback can be horrible. Sometimes it’s the opposite of what you need, sometimes the reader doesn’t get what you’re trying to do at all and it can make you feel like throwing the whole thing out, or never showing anyone your work again.
I’ve been thinking about how, so often, what I really want to hear is “Keep going.” This is true outside of writing, too. When I have an idea, when I’ve begun a project, when I’m partway into a long bike ride and there’s a big hill ahead. How maybe this is true for most of us. That we need people who can see that there is some spark there, no matter how faint. So here’s your reminder, for whatever you may be facing. Keep going.
4. Also, cats
My plan is to post bi-weekly here. Always with some sort of poetry/writing ideas, and some sort of recipe or herbal goodness. I’ll share when I have events coming up, like classes or readings. Sometimes I’ll do a Q&A with writer friends.
If you’ve got requests, the cool thing is, you can tell me! Leave a note!
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