I was going to send you a recording of me screaming into the void, but there’s already enough noise out there.
Instead, I’m going to wholeheartedly invite you to my upcoming writing workshop happening 1/24: Disrupt the Narrative: Writing Through Chaos. There are still some open spots and I’d love for you to join me.
I chose this theme back in late December, aka seven years ago (hahaha! if I only knew).
I remember after Biden won the election hearing all over that “the next two months are going to be the darkest in Trump’s presidency” and I was so scared about what that meant and my sweet little hyper-active mind danced around so many scenarios.
And then January 6th happened, and over a week later we are only now being made aware of the full breadth of terrible that occurred at the Capitol.
Hey dani, what the damn hell does this have to do with writing?
Well, nothing. Not really. Us sitting together for two hours on a Sunday morning playing around with our creativity ultimately isn’t going to get us out of the mess we’re in.
And, what I know is that for many of us—and I’m guessing for you who follow this newsletter—writing and words and narrative and story are how we make sense of things. It’s how we understand the world, how we move from feeling to thought, how we create meaning out of the mess. It’s how we reckon with the uncertain dance between order and chaos (it’s an awkward dance, full of weird, unpredictable foot work and superfluous hand gestures).
I’m inviting you to do all of that with me on 1/24, and I haven’t even mentioned the best part, which is that you’d get to do that with other people who also aspire to meaning and sense making. It’s a very special space and you will leave feeling more grounded, more connected to your center and the centers of your fellow humans, and with your imagination sparked.
And y’all know I am obsessed with the power of imagination.
Chaos is scary because our human minds can’t help but do that human-mind thing where they noodle down worst-case-scenario thinking. The thing is: chaos is not simply disorder. Chaos explores the transitions between order and disorder, which often occur in surprising ways.
I invite you to join me, and to be open to the possibility of surprising yourself.
Sign up, tell your friends, tell your boss and your barista and your dog. Cost is on a sliding scale but if you want to join and can’t pay please please please just tell me, I got you.
Your pal in possibility,
xxoo dani
⛓ Links for you:
👩🏽💻 How To Work Through A Coup “‘This day is wild,’ I texted back, because truly what the fuck else do you say when a shirtless man in horns and furs and white power tattoos has taken up residency in the capitol building.”
🥀 The ‘Permit Karen’ of Montclair. We all know about the awful danger of the “Karen.” But what happens after the viral video, when you have to keep being her neighbor?
🦠 Pandemic Year Two by Ed Yong and his stellar brain in the Atlantic. Also if you would have told me how much I’d be incorporating the “virus” emoji…
💃🏻 What…is…fun? “Now, you are supposed to set an alarm for 8 pm so you remember to tune into a Zoom book launch. “I’m at a reading,” I told my boyfriend, who wanted to know, urgently, if the diced tomatoes in the refrigerator had gone bad. But I wasn’t. I was on the couch.”
🤳🏾 Another weird-ass rabbit hole about Instagram and social media and yes I read the whole thing and I’m grateful to the writer for her commitment to such a deep dive into the furthest recesses of her millennial brain (this isn’t a critique - I too count myself among the millennials [an elderly one]).
🏛 In this week’s Slow Motion Sober essay, I wrote about the lie of “this isn’t who we are.” Kaitlyn Greenidge’s writing this week in Harper’s Bazaar takes a similar but far more essential dive: They Say This Isn’t America. For Most of Us, It Is.
🍇 If you choose one link to explore this week, let it be Robin Wall Kimmerer reading a recent essay at Emergence Magazine. “As Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and ecological systems to reimagine currencies of exchange?”
🌲 As expected so many lovely tributes to Barry Lopez are floating around the interwebs. This obituary (I don’t know if that’s the right word!?) by Lopez’ longtime friend and collaborator was so profoundly gorgeous, and sent me on an existential ponder, imagining what I hope people will remember me for. Even if you aren’t familiar with Barry Lopez I promise it’s worth your time.
(thanks to LGB for the link-spo!)
Thank you so much for being a part of this community. If you like this newsletter, please consider leaving a comment, sending it to a friend or subscribing. Or email me and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.
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24 // a most awkward dance. you're invited.
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Good morning friends.
I was going to send you a recording of me screaming into the void, but there’s already enough noise out there.
Instead, I’m going to wholeheartedly invite you to my upcoming writing workshop happening 1/24: Disrupt the Narrative: Writing Through Chaos. There are still some open spots and I’d love for you to join me.
I chose this theme back in late December, aka seven years ago (hahaha! if I only knew).
I remember after Biden won the election hearing all over that “the next two months are going to be the darkest in Trump’s presidency” and I was so scared about what that meant and my sweet little hyper-active mind danced around so many scenarios.
And then January 6th happened, and over a week later we are only now being made aware of the full breadth of terrible that occurred at the Capitol.
Hey dani, what the damn hell does this have to do with writing?
Well, nothing. Not really. Us sitting together for two hours on a Sunday morning playing around with our creativity ultimately isn’t going to get us out of the mess we’re in.
And, what I know is that for many of us—and I’m guessing for you who follow this newsletter—writing and words and narrative and story are how we make sense of things. It’s how we understand the world, how we move from feeling to thought, how we create meaning out of the mess. It’s how we reckon with the uncertain dance between order and chaos (it’s an awkward dance, full of weird, unpredictable foot work and superfluous hand gestures).
I’m inviting you to do all of that with me on 1/24, and I haven’t even mentioned the best part, which is that you’d get to do that with other people who also aspire to meaning and sense making. It’s a very special space and you will leave feeling more grounded, more connected to your center and the centers of your fellow humans, and with your imagination sparked.
And y’all know I am obsessed with the power of imagination.
Chaos is scary because our human minds can’t help but do that human-mind thing where they noodle down worst-case-scenario thinking. The thing is: chaos is not simply disorder. Chaos explores the transitions between order and disorder, which often occur in surprising ways.
I invite you to join me, and to be open to the possibility of surprising yourself.
Sign up, tell your friends, tell your boss and your barista and your dog. Cost is on a sliding scale but if you want to join and can’t pay please please please just tell me, I got you.
Your pal in possibility,
xxoo
dani
⛓ Links for you:
👩🏽💻 How To Work Through A Coup “‘This day is wild,’ I texted back, because truly what the fuck else do you say when a shirtless man in horns and furs and white power tattoos has taken up residency in the capitol building.”
🥀 The ‘Permit Karen’ of Montclair. We all know about the awful danger of the “Karen.” But what happens after the viral video, when you have to keep being her neighbor?
🦠 Pandemic Year Two by Ed Yong and his stellar brain in the Atlantic. Also if you would have told me how much I’d be incorporating the “virus” emoji…
🏢 This is just a weird-ass internet rabbit hole that gave me some absurd joy, which is kind of on brand these days. Liminal Spaces may be the most 2020 of all trends.
💃🏻 What…is…fun? “Now, you are supposed to set an alarm for 8 pm so you remember to tune into a Zoom book launch. “I’m at a reading,” I told my boyfriend, who wanted to know, urgently, if the diced tomatoes in the refrigerator had gone bad. But I wasn’t. I was on the couch.”
🤳🏾 Another weird-ass rabbit hole about Instagram and social media and yes I read the whole thing and I’m grateful to the writer for her commitment to such a deep dive into the furthest recesses of her millennial brain (this isn’t a critique - I too count myself among the millennials [an elderly one]).
🏛 In this week’s Slow Motion Sober essay, I wrote about the lie of “this isn’t who we are.” Kaitlyn Greenidge’s writing this week in Harper’s Bazaar takes a similar but far more essential dive: They Say This Isn’t America. For Most of Us, It Is.
🍇 If you choose one link to explore this week, let it be Robin Wall Kimmerer reading a recent essay at Emergence Magazine. “As Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and ecological systems to reimagine currencies of exchange?”
🌲 As expected so many lovely tributes to Barry Lopez are floating around the interwebs. This obituary (I don’t know if that’s the right word!?) by Lopez’ longtime friend and collaborator was so profoundly gorgeous, and sent me on an existential ponder, imagining what I hope people will remember me for. Even if you aren’t familiar with Barry Lopez I promise it’s worth your time.
(thanks to LGB for the link-spo!)
Thank you so much for being a part of this community. If you like this newsletter, please consider leaving a comment, sending it to a friend or subscribing. Or email me and say hi, I’d love to hear from you.