The Memoir Series has finished, and the Taos Writing Transformation is about to begin - what’s next?
We’ll be offering a guided course of “Write What You Don’t Know” - once a week, drop in as you like . . . More details soon!
Meanwhile . . .
Join us today for the Prompt of the Week at 9 am PT / noon ET - and if you know someone who would enjoy writing with us, go ahead and share this email. Also, please spread the word about our new Prompt of the Week session on Thursdays, 3 pm PT / 6 pm ET. Same prompt as Saturday but a different group list (obviously!), and we’re finding we’re writing something very very different! The Zoom link for that is in the Wednesday/Thursday Substack newsletter.
Last week’s Exquisite Storm: “All Aflame”
An Exquisite Corpse (so named by the Surrealists) is a “found poem” made up of disconnected parts, but we prefer to call it the Exquisite Storm. Each writer in our Saturday Imaginative Storm writing group offered one line from the 10-minute piece they generated. Last week we were inspired by a photo of the writer Colette on her 80th birthday.
The title comes from the first line, spoken by Marianne Furred. If you’d like to hear it read aloud by the writers, click through to YouTube.
All aflame till only the cremains remain, here's a fire too puny to put out. Eyes all blue, there's a Life magazine still open at her right hand. An Elvis lover returns, kissing her everywhere that she has skin. How did it feel to be in lockdown with a sociopath? I understand eating in bed after my husband died, my bed became my desk. We're all born with a book of matches, just waiting for the guests to show up and join the party. Yes, the fire is hot, and there's much burning required. Her name was Flambé, as her dearest friends affectionately called her. She once set her hair on fire, a lunch served hot. The beer is cold. Dessert is in the wind. I once set my toenails on fire, and it took a week to put them out. I decide to rock the ages resplendent, still living on the brink. Fool yourself into being the gourmet I know I am. And that's big news to my imagination. The little old lady was born with a book of matches in her hand that sparked revolutions, floated too long before sinking into the dark water, palely visible, a ghostly accusation waiting for her mother-in-law to find the next morning. Toss it all into the fire. Watch it dance. Smoke. Show me the stars. The light between darkness. Remember, your light. Turn it on, and stay a little while longer. Liberated from the fur and the fangs and the fanning flames of the world outside the room, outside the bed, beyond her head. Is it really a routine? Or is it a ritual that has totally lost its meaning?
ORDER OF SPEAKERS
Marianne Furedi, Allegra Huston, James Navé, Kelsey Walters, Linda Smith, Kyra Strasberg, Lyn Rothman, Regina Ress, Jane Goldberg, Arlene Shapiro, Andrea Davis, Barbara Benedict, Diana Leszczyński, Genevia Hendry, Ellie Jennings, Eve Stern, Kathleen Wilson, June Kinoshita, Susie Shipman, Katerina Tana, Krista Thornburg
This week’s Imaginative Storm podcast
This week, Navé talks with Dr. Aditi Sethi, Director of The Center for Conscious Living and Dying in Swannanoa, NC.
Aditi is dedicated to exploring how closeness to death can deepen our understanding of life and connect us to its profound mysteries. Our connection began when I selected speakers for TEDx Asheville, where I also had the pleasure of coaching Aditi. In our conversation, we delve into the essence of life and death, Aditi's preparation for her impactful TEDx talk, and I'll share key insights on effective public speaking. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion that promises to enlighten and inspire. Enjoy the show.
If you’d like to make a contribution . . .
. . . to keep the Imaginative Storm Prompt of the Week going, you can find our “tip jar” in the footer at imaginativestorm.com. If you already support us, thank you!