Tuning In to Joy + the poetics of risk, libraries, liberties, and lawsuits

Wisdom of joy from Rumi; my summertime joys; writer reality show; writerly reflections on background, poetics, & the speculative epic; libraries under siege; HC union strike; the IA lawsuit; ice cream

Greetings readers & writers,

I want to give a special shout-out to new subscribers. Welcome! We’re so glad to have you. Summertime here is a little slower, a little less scheduled, a little more spacious. Grab a glass of your favorite iced beverage, kick back, and enjoy.

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Joy.

I’ve been thinking about joy a lot recently, about how evasive it has seemed over the last few years, when muddling by with “fine” seemed to be the best one could hope for. I’ve talked in the past about writing as both an art and a business. These past few years especially, the business side of things has allowed me to maintain my commitment to writing. But now the pendulum is swinging the other way. I find myself asking: how can writing bring me joy? and what other joys await me if I let myself embrace them?

With the condition of the world, with the attacks on liberties and libraries and the very safety of ourselves and fellow inhabitants of this planet, I think joy can feel like something we don’t deserve. But joy is a huge part of the heartbeat of what makes us human. And part of our role as writers and artists is to create spaces for readers, viewers, and one another to feel that pulse too.

Tea artwork from Les Fées Sorcières/ Marie-Ève Turgeon

So how do we tune in to joy? That’s the question I’m sitting with this summer. So, of course, I turn to other creators. The 13th-century poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (aka, Rumi) has a lot to say about joy and presence, like in his poem “Begin”:

This is now. Now is. Don’t
postpone till then. Spend

the spark of iron on stone.
Sit at the head of the table;

dip your spoon in the bowl.
Seat yourself next to your joy

and have your awakened soul
pour wine. Branches in the

spring wind, easy dance of
jasmine and cypress. Cloth

for green robes has been cut
from pure absence. You’re

the tailor, settled among his
shop goods, quietly sewing.

(trans. by Coleman Barks)

I like the idea of intentionally seating myself beside the things that bring me joy, to allow my soul to give and receive from that experience, alongside the beauty of creating art: quietly making something from nothing.

In that spirit, I’ve listed some small joys of my own below — maybe you’ll find your own inspiration here as well.

Are you tapping into joy this summer? What’s speaking to you? Feel free to share in the comments.

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Small Summertime Joys

• ^This video of Goede Hoop, a marimba band of young South African girls, enjoying the hell out of playing Vivaldi.

• Picking fresh blueberries

• Eating literally anything from Twist Bakery & Cafe

• Reading by a lake in summertime

• The quick wit and highly readable works of Kage Baker

• The BBC show Ghosts

• Also the Great Pottery Throw Down

• Tiny mouses houses in downtown Boston

• Farmers markets and all the incredible fresh produce!

• The word game Waffle (like Wordl, but crosswordy!)

• This brutally (and hilarious) true list of book plots. My book is 4, 8, 12, and 28. What’s yours?

• Taking a good ol’ fashion read-cation (and here’s how you can too)

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Writing/ Marketing Resources

It’s finally happening: a reality TV show about writers!?! {Publisher’s Weekly} Do you have what it takes to be America’s Next Great Author? I… can’t decide if I love it or hate it.

Author/editor Alex Woodroe has a truly essential Twitter thread on how to reveal story info in the order that will best serve your reader:

Alex Woodroe @AlexWoodroe

Have you ever had feedback from editors or peers where they ask you to explain or expand something, and you're frustrated because if they'd only kept reading a few more pages, you already explained exactly what they had asked for? I have a little insight into why that happens: 🧵

Poet Lisa Russ Spaar shares poignant and delicate reflections on the poetics of risk taking and publishing her first novel in her sixties. {LitHub}

Is the “speculative epic” a form for our time? (Yes please!) Author Lincoln Michel explores the popularity of the speculative epic novel {Esquire} and how they give writers the freedom to genre-bend, time-travel, and write across a vast canvas to explore the surreality and immediacy of current issues.

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Industry News

• More than 200 Harper Collins union workers went on a one-day strike this week {Publisher’s Weekly} pushing for higher wages, better family leave, and a stronger commitment to diversity, after the continued failure of contract negotiations. You can read the union’s statement here.

• The entire staff of an Iowan small-town library quit after becoming public targets for having LGBTQ+ staff members and book displays. {Iowa Starting Line} This is part of a trend of librarians coming under attack in the wake of book bans and the growing contention around book curation. {The New York Times — free link}

• The highly contentious Internet Archive lawsuit comes to a head this month in U.S. District Court, as the publishers involved filed a motion for summary judgement of copyright infringement while IA filed a motion requesting their digital book lending practice be recognized as lawful fair use. Library Journal has a full listing of the case’s documentation. To understand the stakes of this lawsuit, check out these summaries from The Conversation, Vox, and Publisher’s Weekly.

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National Ice Cream Month

I’m not an expert ice cream maker, but if you are, this is one of my favorite homemade flavors. It’s got a bunch of steps and involves making caramel (eep!), but David Lebovitz’s Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream is everything it claims to be: not too sweet and buttery with a hint of bitterness from the flecks of almost-burnt caramel. Its toffee flavors will keep developing as it sits in your freezer. Which it won’t for long.

everything’s better with a brownie

Not interested in churning your own? I hear you. Lots of brands and stores are offering free/discounted frozen desserts this month. Treat yo’ self!

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Hope you’re staying cool in this intense heat. Support local libraries. Read up on reproductive justice. Stay safe and give yourself some extra TLC.

~Allison

Writer & Marketing Coach
Keep Writing, Keep Connecting! Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Website

*Bookshop.org affliate links! Check out our Bookshop for other recommendations.

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