One Quote + One Note + One Question January 7, 2024
One Quote
My poem, “The Vostok Ice Core gives a creative writing lesson,” gives advice for the nature writer which can be applied in any setting, not just glacial ones. Ice cores are cylinders of ice drilled from ice sheets or glaciers, which contain evidence of past climates. Scientists read slices from the core for data on the weather and past pollution.
The Vostok Ice Core gives a creative writing lesson (first published in The Rialto)
[Read the entire poem here. You’ll need to scroll down a bit.]
Be complete. Tell the whole story: every day in every season, summer and winter, from the present until the beginning of time.
Be discrete. Record events in one location only; preserve the unities of space, if not of time.
- Nancy Campbell, britishcouncil.org
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One Note
I didn’t know what ice cores were at this time last week, but now I know. It’s absolutely fascinating. Cylinders of ice that contain evidence of past climates, evidence of the past, evidence of a time before now.
It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around the fact that water can hold so many stories. But when I think of it that way—“water can hold so many stories”—it makes perfect sense. Of course water holds our stories.
And now I’m thinking about all of the stories water holds. Oceans and rivers and ponds and creeks. Waterfalls and streams and pools. Glasses of water that have refreshed. Fire hoses that have harmed. Storms and snow. Floods and hail. Why have I never thought about this before?
Now I want to know more stories about water and time. Ice and time. Now I have something else to research and explore. How delightful.
Until next time,
Charlotte
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One Question
What stories is the natural world trying to tell you?
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One Interview with Nancy Campbell
One Book by Nancy Campbell That I’m Still Reading
One Print of a Poem That I Bought from @hannahrowrites That’s Hanging in My Retreat Room
One Celebration
Our Retreat Room Launch and Open House is today. I’m excited and nervous, but mostly excited. As I’ve been preparing, I’ve been noticing how today’s gathering will be different than what I was planning on December 1st, the original date for the event. We had to cancel and reschedule because my daughter had an injury that required my attention and a very long ER visit, etc. (She’s fine now!)
The decorations are different. Most of the Christmas stuff has been put away. For those of us who follow the church year, it’s Epiphany now. I have several glass candle votives with stars on them. I’m going to light a bunch of candles throughout the house even though it will be daytime. Stars and light are good things. I like to keep things simple when decorating our home for events and gatherings, so there won’t be much extra beyond the star votives.
The food options are a bit different too because the rescheduled event is happening during the afternoon instead of at night. I’ll still have too much food because that’s what I do. I made way too many of my favorite rosemary spiced pecans last night. There are worse things to have on hand.
If you pray, please pray for the Retreat Room Launch. It’s kind of weird to mix personal stuff with work stuff, and that’s what I’m doing with this gathering. I want people to feel welcomed. I want to have good conversations with new neighbors and old neighbors, new friends and old friends. I want to celebrate this space that allows me to expand my spiritual direction and work offerings and give others a comfortable place to nourish their minds, bodies, and souls.
Charlotte Donlon’s writing and work are always rooted in helping her readers, audience, and clients notice how art and other good things help them belong to themselves, others, the divine, and the world. Charlotte is the founder of Thoughtful Books Etc.™, One O’Clock Central, Spiritual Direction for Writers® , Spiritual Direction for Belonging™, and Parenting with Art™. Her first book was The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. Her next book on Spiritual Direction for Writers will be published by Eerdmans in 2024 or 2025. Charlotte’s essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and a certificate in spiritual direction. To receive Charlotte’s latest updates, news, announcements, and all kinds of good things, subscribe to Thoughtful Readers Etc. + Five Good Things.