PSST...YOU ARE AN ALIVE POEM

Free replay of last week's Write Now workshop! Plus: Joy Harjo's "Remember" for the days ahead.

Dear readers! An essay is coming coming later this week. But first, a few treats after the (jazz hands) jump. Sending love and energized hope to all. If you’re in the US, first and foremost, please VOTE! ‘Til soon, xx Alexa

Pic by Tim Hout. Dress I live in by Apiece Apart.

WRITE NOW REPLAY

Please enjoy this free replay through November 4th! Note: I’ve edited out participants’ prompt shares to respect privacy. I’m a stickler for a safe space :) If you’re watching the replay, do give the prompt a try in real time. It’s a tried and true classic.

I seriously thought I’d have 5 or 6 people at my workshop — I was overjoyed (and stunned!) to have 70 signups! Thank you to my friend (and amazing writer) Kate Devine for stepping in at the last minute and helping me run the show. And much gratitude to all of you for being game and giving the gift of your presence. This is an opportunity to see how I roll and to get an hour of time for yourself.

Some highlights:

• 4:50 5-minute guided meditation for grounding and creating “the gap,” great to use before writing.

• 11:20 We start with ourselves, we start where we are. Why memoir gets a bad rep; the win-win of sharing our stories, getting relief, and serving others in the process.

• 16:00 Writing prompt: Joe Brainard’s “I remember.”

• 23:11 Joy Harjo’s “Remember.”

• 32:21 How to break it all down and assemble our scraps into a story.

1:1 FORTRESS - SPOTS OPEN!

Also through November 4th, I’ve extended the special promotion (and opened up two spots) to work with me 1:1 in FORTRESS. I am alive with this work! If you’ve been thinking about it, get in with me now by booking a call, and we can talk it through. I would love to support you if you’re looking to go all-in and transform your writing practice. My writers are making leaps and bounds, both on the page and in their lives, too. Watch the replay to get a feel for how I do things.

JOY HARJO’S “REMEMBER”

Lastly, I often teach Joy Harjo’s “Remember,” as it’s one of those poems that just snaps you right back into yourself. It also reminds us of our interconnectedness. In the workshop, I joked that when you work with me it’s Joy Harjo All the Time. But — can you blame me? Listen to her read aloud, and her words below, too.

Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.

Never forget: you are an alive poem.

Deep breaths.

xx Alexa