I was so struck by how the piece you are submitting did so darn much in such compact and concise space. So yes- less can be infinitely more. Restraint is something I admire most in writing and struggle to achieve. And field trip to Diana’s??? I am so. There.
Thank you so much, Emily! I wanted to post it here as this week's piece, but then I wasn't sure if NYT considered posting on Substack publishing. I know most literary journals do, so I erred on the side of caution. But thank you so much for saying that. I'm working on Jeannine's prompt from today and it's all about constraints. Which I love! And yes! Field trip to Diana's! xoxoxo
I hate being old. "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was written and performed by The Smiths. Oh my, in 1987. Don't you hate when you find a song you like and it turns out to be a remake. I also hate hearing Depeche Mode in commercials.
Oh. My. Godness. YES! I knew I recognized something, but I thought it was just the ending sample. Holy cow! I totally remember that song. I wasn't as into the Smiths as my sister, but I bet you she played that and I heard it from the next room! thank you so much for giving credit where it's due and bringing me back to my middle school years!
Hello my dear! I can relate so much to the Marie Howe poem you shared. I was the only girl, often the daughter stretching herself out to be the human bridge between brother and father. I learned to follow, to observe, to keep an eye on and to hold tightly the gossamer thread connection to my brothers alive as they went through their teenage and young adult rebellions. I always felt it was my job, though no one ever told me that. Interesting.
I admire your goal -- get it, girl! and I am so pleased to see your writing featured elsewhere. XO
Hello sweet Emily! Oh of course and how beautifully you said that, "stretching herself out to be the human bridge between brother and father" ooh gave me chills. and then this, "hold tightly the gossamer thread connection to my brothers alive as they went through their teenage and young adult rebellions. I always felt it was my job, though no one ever told me that" the gossamer thread that was your job. So much there, Emily. I'd love to read more. ;)
And thank you thank you for the support and encouragement! xoxoxo
Kudos to you for working on a piece until it feel right to release into the world. You are really honing your craft, and I take inspiration from that. I know that your WIP for the NYT will be stunning. Also, just having the capacity to show up with this post while working on another is something I still hope to learn to do well, so kudos on that too!
I do love the way we all can connect on Substack. Keep on writing. Keep on sharing. I’m here for it.
Thank you Sally! I realized as I was thinking about skipping a post entirely this week, that I missed it and I said that, but I didn't realize (duh) that what I missed wasn't the posting, it was the _community_ and interacting with you all _about_ the post and our lives and what is up for us. It was so worth it to take an hour to put together a post of meaningful things, so that I had other hours today to work on writing that wasn't ready to be shared yet. So thank you for love and the support. I feel really seen. ❤️
Jocelyn, I am so with you on wanting to share only pieces that feel done. I think it's the work with WITD that has both created that shift AND made it harder for me get things done for my newsletter! I've found so many new people to read and I'm doing the writing there and--you know--life! I love all the snippets of things you've shared here.
Yes! That's exactly it! WITD has for sure created that shift in me AND made it harder to just put something out - even though I really thought what I was putting out was good. And it was, I just see now how it could be even better. I've grown just in a few months as a writer working with Jeannine and the WITD community. And yes! Replying to all the fabulous writing just on WITD is a full time gig in itself. ;)
I made out a little plan for myself this weekend for my SS. I'm going to do one collection post like this one, one essay for sure, one letter from love (because those are just spectacular) and then the fourth week is open for whatever comes. We'll see how that works. It feels more spacious and give me time to write pieces to submit elsewhere - I hope. ;)
And thank you for the kind words about my WITD snippets. It's amazing the work we're all doing over there! xoxoxo
I've thought about a similar kind of plan. Right now I'm just winging it, with no regular schedule, because I've had too much to manage in other parts of my life, but I like the idea of a schedule like you're describing here. Hope it works for you!
I totally get that, I think the most important thing is to be kind to ourselves and know that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things how often we post, but more that we love what we're doing and the process of it all.
I smelled and saw this as I read it, the humidity of a summer night, the off orange yellow color of street lights at the end of a suburban street leading to nowhere - teen age wasteland at its best. You can almost see the lit cigarette and joint tips when you get out of the cone of the streetlight.
And in two more days our father will convince me to go to him - you know
That pause. He knows she knows much more than just where he is.
will shave his head bald, and my brother will not speak to anyone the next
month, not a word, not pass the milk, nothing.
Laid bare - completely vulnerable. Hair was his protection. He has no words without being protected by his hair. How can he?a
The relentlessness stripping away and making vulnerable.
The endless desire to leave the relentlessness and never look back becomes reality.
I was the girl. What happened taught me to follow him, whoever he was.
calling and calling his name.
Here's the sobering turn, from her brother to any boy, any man, calling, wanting, needing, never reaching.
I still smell that humid heat and see his outline in the last streetlight. Hair shiny and dark.
Oooh this is great Diana. yes, the vulnerability of the shaved head, the FEEL of place in this piece. Something you said made me also think of the slowness of summer when you're a kid, how you're always wanting and waiting for something to happen, and then she gives us this huge thing that speeds the poem up to its conclusion. (Just to be clear, this isn't my poem, it's by Marie Howe, who I only just discovered through WITD) xoxoxo
You go girl! When I heard Jeannine say you should submit your piece I wanted to unmute and yell, "Yesssss!!!" So glad you're taking the leap of faith. The Marie Howe poem is one of those that I read and reread all day long...I love it. I'm old enough to remember the Smith's version of that song, back before Morrissey became Morrissey.
Thank you Steve! I love your enthusiasm, it means so much to me. And it was so so so fun to see you live on the open mic call! It's gotten me all excited about really working a piece and trying things that are new to me. I can't wait to see what I'll learn next! And Steve, we're ALL old enough to remember that ;) 😂🙏
yes! I think that's why I liked it and noticed it at the store. And as Knoura pointed out, turns out I'd already heard it a bunch from the Smiths! It's just catchy and easy in a way that appeals to my GenX eardrums. :)
You are so very welcome! I love your work so much. The ceramics, the writing, your drawings too. ❤️ And thank you for the support on my goal! I will be fun just trying regardless of the outcome. Oooooh. Can't wait for the close reading. I need to do one too. xoxox
I love to see an unapologetic commitment to self and craft, it so bolsters this inner knowing that I have so much that desires to be shared AND that I can easily commit myself to a schedule that doesn't work for me.
And musicland- I'm only privy to my own narrow musicland a lot of the time so I had never heard this song and it's lovely :) An artist I was turned onto in the last 2 years is Coax Marie, she sings affirmation songs that took over my spotify wrapped last year.
So glad to have met in WITD and now get to witness you here too!!
Oh Cassidy, this means so much to me! I've been struggling with knowing I need to produce less pieces, so I can produce better pieces, for a good month or two now. And working with Jeannine just pushed me over the edge to where I had that moment where I realized I just couldn't really go back. I wanted to spend more time with each piece to really find it's aboutness and to make it really sing, as she puts it. And it's so wonderful to really sit and work with a piece until I get it to that place where I'm like, oh, yes, that's IT!
I'll have to check out Coax Marie - tow of my favorite mantra singers are Deva Premal and Snatam Kaur.
And me too! I love seeing the WITD community out and about on Substack and especially over here! ❤️🙏
metal hangers clinking in the trees like wind chimes (I hear Emily's voice in my head right now lol) also clinking like keys and locks, like being imprisoned by his father's beliefs/wishes/commands
there's a bit of a swaying rhythm to this, like walking and the alliteration in the first bit is lovely: pit overgrown, furniture thrown, running away from home
it's interesting how she mirrors the walk down the sidewalk from the beginning in the next to last line.
and how she followed men and the neighborhood kids followed her
The sparseness and the constraint here really helps me feel the loneliness of all the characters here.
I was so struck by how the piece you are submitting did so darn much in such compact and concise space. So yes- less can be infinitely more. Restraint is something I admire most in writing and struggle to achieve. And field trip to Diana’s??? I am so. There.
This would make my day month year ladies!!!
Diana, are you still doing family dinners once or twice a year? I thought I read that somewhere on your site or in your writings. xo
We do! They are wine pairing meals, actually, which we do in conjunction with our organic wine business.
Oh of course. That makes so much sense.
Lol, are men invited too? I'll bring my wife!🤣
Of course! It’ll be a whole WITD alumni trip!😉
We have got to get Jeannine on the plane with you guys!!! 🌻
YES! Ooooooh. What if we could get her to do a writing retreat? WITD camp 2026?
And mine! You are on my bucket list!
Samesies!
Thank you so much, Emily! I wanted to post it here as this week's piece, but then I wasn't sure if NYT considered posting on Substack publishing. I know most literary journals do, so I erred on the side of caution. But thank you so much for saying that. I'm working on Jeannine's prompt from today and it's all about constraints. Which I love! And yes! Field trip to Diana's! xoxoxo
I hate being old. "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was written and performed by The Smiths. Oh my, in 1987. Don't you hate when you find a song you like and it turns out to be a remake. I also hate hearing Depeche Mode in commercials.
Oh. My. Godness. YES! I knew I recognized something, but I thought it was just the ending sample. Holy cow! I totally remember that song. I wasn't as into the Smiths as my sister, but I bet you she played that and I heard it from the next room! thank you so much for giving credit where it's due and bringing me back to my middle school years!
Ha! I knew it!!
And look - it's NOT jazz. ;)
I didn't recognize it at first, not a great version. I saw something in the comments.
Hello my dear! I can relate so much to the Marie Howe poem you shared. I was the only girl, often the daughter stretching herself out to be the human bridge between brother and father. I learned to follow, to observe, to keep an eye on and to hold tightly the gossamer thread connection to my brothers alive as they went through their teenage and young adult rebellions. I always felt it was my job, though no one ever told me that. Interesting.
I admire your goal -- get it, girl! and I am so pleased to see your writing featured elsewhere. XO
Hello sweet Emily! Oh of course and how beautifully you said that, "stretching herself out to be the human bridge between brother and father" ooh gave me chills. and then this, "hold tightly the gossamer thread connection to my brothers alive as they went through their teenage and young adult rebellions. I always felt it was my job, though no one ever told me that" the gossamer thread that was your job. So much there, Emily. I'd love to read more. ;)
And thank you thank you for the support and encouragement! xoxoxo
Kudos to you for working on a piece until it feel right to release into the world. You are really honing your craft, and I take inspiration from that. I know that your WIP for the NYT will be stunning. Also, just having the capacity to show up with this post while working on another is something I still hope to learn to do well, so kudos on that too!
I do love the way we all can connect on Substack. Keep on writing. Keep on sharing. I’m here for it.
Thank you Sally! I realized as I was thinking about skipping a post entirely this week, that I missed it and I said that, but I didn't realize (duh) that what I missed wasn't the posting, it was the _community_ and interacting with you all _about_ the post and our lives and what is up for us. It was so worth it to take an hour to put together a post of meaningful things, so that I had other hours today to work on writing that wasn't ready to be shared yet. So thank you for love and the support. I feel really seen. ❤️
Jocelyn, I am so with you on wanting to share only pieces that feel done. I think it's the work with WITD that has both created that shift AND made it harder for me get things done for my newsletter! I've found so many new people to read and I'm doing the writing there and--you know--life! I love all the snippets of things you've shared here.
Yes! That's exactly it! WITD has for sure created that shift in me AND made it harder to just put something out - even though I really thought what I was putting out was good. And it was, I just see now how it could be even better. I've grown just in a few months as a writer working with Jeannine and the WITD community. And yes! Replying to all the fabulous writing just on WITD is a full time gig in itself. ;)
I made out a little plan for myself this weekend for my SS. I'm going to do one collection post like this one, one essay for sure, one letter from love (because those are just spectacular) and then the fourth week is open for whatever comes. We'll see how that works. It feels more spacious and give me time to write pieces to submit elsewhere - I hope. ;)
And thank you for the kind words about my WITD snippets. It's amazing the work we're all doing over there! xoxoxo
I've thought about a similar kind of plan. Right now I'm just winging it, with no regular schedule, because I've had too much to manage in other parts of my life, but I like the idea of a schedule like you're describing here. Hope it works for you!
I totally get that, I think the most important thing is to be kind to ourselves and know that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things how often we post, but more that we love what we're doing and the process of it all.
Finally coming back. Close reading:
I smelled and saw this as I read it, the humidity of a summer night, the off orange yellow color of street lights at the end of a suburban street leading to nowhere - teen age wasteland at its best. You can almost see the lit cigarette and joint tips when you get out of the cone of the streetlight.
And in two more days our father will convince me to go to him - you know
That pause. He knows she knows much more than just where he is.
will shave his head bald, and my brother will not speak to anyone the next
month, not a word, not pass the milk, nothing.
Laid bare - completely vulnerable. Hair was his protection. He has no words without being protected by his hair. How can he?a
The relentlessness stripping away and making vulnerable.
The endless desire to leave the relentlessness and never look back becomes reality.
I was the girl. What happened taught me to follow him, whoever he was.
calling and calling his name.
Here's the sobering turn, from her brother to any boy, any man, calling, wanting, needing, never reaching.
I still smell that humid heat and see his outline in the last streetlight. Hair shiny and dark.
Incredible poem, Jocelyn.
Oooh this is great Diana. yes, the vulnerability of the shaved head, the FEEL of place in this piece. Something you said made me also think of the slowness of summer when you're a kid, how you're always wanting and waiting for something to happen, and then she gives us this huge thing that speeds the poem up to its conclusion. (Just to be clear, this isn't my poem, it's by Marie Howe, who I only just discovered through WITD) xoxoxo
You go girl! When I heard Jeannine say you should submit your piece I wanted to unmute and yell, "Yesssss!!!" So glad you're taking the leap of faith. The Marie Howe poem is one of those that I read and reread all day long...I love it. I'm old enough to remember the Smith's version of that song, back before Morrissey became Morrissey.
Thank you Steve! I love your enthusiasm, it means so much to me. And it was so so so fun to see you live on the open mic call! It's gotten me all excited about really working a piece and trying things that are new to me. I can't wait to see what I'll learn next! And Steve, we're ALL old enough to remember that ;) 😂🙏
The song reminds me of 80s pop.
Maybe just because I've heard it and ... Pop music is inherently derivative.
I like it some.
yes! I think that's why I liked it and noticed it at the store. And as Knoura pointed out, turns out I'd already heard it a bunch from the Smiths! It's just catchy and easy in a way that appeals to my GenX eardrums. :)
Jocelyn!!!! Thank you, you lovely woman. Y
My door is wide open 🧡. Oh I love your goal will be cheering you from thd sidelines! Now I'll go back for a close reading....
You are so very welcome! I love your work so much. The ceramics, the writing, your drawings too. ❤️ And thank you for the support on my goal! I will be fun just trying regardless of the outcome. Oooooh. Can't wait for the close reading. I need to do one too. xoxox
I love to see an unapologetic commitment to self and craft, it so bolsters this inner knowing that I have so much that desires to be shared AND that I can easily commit myself to a schedule that doesn't work for me.
And musicland- I'm only privy to my own narrow musicland a lot of the time so I had never heard this song and it's lovely :) An artist I was turned onto in the last 2 years is Coax Marie, she sings affirmation songs that took over my spotify wrapped last year.
So glad to have met in WITD and now get to witness you here too!!
Oh Cassidy, this means so much to me! I've been struggling with knowing I need to produce less pieces, so I can produce better pieces, for a good month or two now. And working with Jeannine just pushed me over the edge to where I had that moment where I realized I just couldn't really go back. I wanted to spend more time with each piece to really find it's aboutness and to make it really sing, as she puts it. And it's so wonderful to really sit and work with a piece until I get it to that place where I'm like, oh, yes, that's IT!
I'll have to check out Coax Marie - tow of my favorite mantra singers are Deva Premal and Snatam Kaur.
And me too! I love seeing the WITD community out and about on Substack and especially over here! ❤️🙏
My close read:
metal hangers clinking in the trees like wind chimes (I hear Emily's voice in my head right now lol) also clinking like keys and locks, like being imprisoned by his father's beliefs/wishes/commands
there's a bit of a swaying rhythm to this, like walking and the alliteration in the first bit is lovely: pit overgrown, furniture thrown, running away from home
it's interesting how she mirrors the walk down the sidewalk from the beginning in the next to last line.
and how she followed men and the neighborhood kids followed her
The sparseness and the constraint here really helps me feel the loneliness of all the characters here.