The Grasshopper King
INTENTIONS | 12.1.19
The Grasshopper King
I hiked my usual 5-mile loop with 20 middle-schoolers this week. We needed to get to the top of a local peak. The pre-teens tire towards the middle and find little respite in the patches of parched field between shaded bay groves. With 11-year-olds, meltdowns are only one broken shoelace away.
This particular hike, we remained meltdown-free, likely due to unforeseen magic: when crossing a stretch of dry bristle, grasshoppers leapt in front of us like cannonballs. They landed on our backpacks, our shirts, and our hands.
There must have been hundreds.
Students dropped their backpacks and ran to catch their own grasshopper friend. By the end of our break, three of my students had outlined a trio of grasshopper-related fantasy novels.
“Book one will be titled The Grasshopper King,” one student said to me as we started hiking again.
Her classmate jumped in, “and I’m writing the sequel called Queen of the Mutant Grasshoppers.” I can’t tell you the details of the plot, but I will give you a hint: book three involves some serious lizard-grasshopper conflict.
We continued to hike and discuss plot loopholes, before we ate cookies on top of the peak, and we hiked down a different trail. It was a day together spent outside, listening to creative impulses and sharing our ideas.
Sometimes my own expectations of “good writing” prevent me from writing. Has this happened to you too? In the spirit of catching a bit of magic and sharing all ideas, here’s to a judgment-free December. Let’s write this month—whatever we feel, and let the creation be.
CREATIVITY CRUSH | 12.1.19
Katia Aoun Hage is “present for whatever expression is going to happen.”
Katia Aoun Hage is a poet and painter who lives in southern California, but that is not where her story begins. Distinguishing the art and life of Katia would be like separating light from water: her life is a story of art, and her art reflects the memories embedded in her life.
Katia’s words stand for themselves like boulders in the desert, and her paintings make the poems even more alive with thick swirls of color.
In her first book of poems, titled After the War, The Women Spoke, Katia delivers an emotional retelling of her experience in the aftermath of war-torn Lebanon.
“I cannot write mid-struggle and I cannot write during something really beautiful,” Katia explains. “Usually after a big life event has quieted down, I am triggered by a word someone says, or the way the light hits the water. And then I write.”
Katia collaborates with choreographers and dancers, including her friend and fellow artist, Sofia Carrera at Intersect Dance Theatre.
Her poem, “Stand” combines the power of Katia’s words with her voice, and features a stage with evocative dancers. Three minutes into the performance, Katia begins reading her poem, which unfolds like a rich story with beautiful singing in Arabic.
“My language, the Arabic language, has a rich flow. Having to learn French, I discovered that it broke some of that flow. With the English language, I struggled to express my emotions in a melodious and rhythmic way. It was a steep learning curve."
Katia also offers advice for artists whose first language isn’t English. “Be patient. Keep at it. Trust the intuition of how your ears hear the words.”
In Katia’s world, collaborations like the dance performance of “Stand” are crucial for artistic growth.
“When we artists work together, it can be hard. Competition has been stamped into our brains in this society. But we are all one body, all together, and we can only walk forward if all elements are working together.”
You can sign up for Katia’s blog here, and purchase her first book of poetry here.
“I cannot write mid-struggle and I cannot write during something really beautiful,” Katia explains.
You can sign up for Katia’s blog here, and purchase her first book of poetry here.
WRITING EXERCISE | 12.1.19
If Our Shoes Could Speak: A 15-Minute Prompt
Here’s a way to play with point of view, which is a wonderful way to switch old writing habits and hurdle any potential creativity roadblocks.
For 15 minutes, write about the experience and thoughts from one (or several) of your shoes. What stories would your shoes tell about you? For example, do your shoes resent that huge downpour you made them sludge through this weekend? What about that pair of flip-flops that tremble at the thought of breaking right where the strap meets the toes?
What do the shoes feel and overhear, and if they could give you advice based on how you move through space, what would they say?
Tip: We each have an inner critic that voices judgment towards our own craft. If you find your inner critic making loud comments about your work, feel free to give this critic a persona, or even a name. It’s a great tool in psychology to disassociate reality from our thoughts. Maybe you call your harsh inner critic “Judgmental Jane,” and invite her to relax with you, and share a sip of chamomile tea.
QUICK LIT REVIEW | 12.1.19
One environmentalist, over The Overstory, with liberty and justice for all.
Richard Powers’ book received praise throughout America. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and Ann Patchett said it is “the best novel ever written about trees.” To which I ask Ann Patchett, “have you read the book?”
I am kidding, a bit. I would ask Ann Patchett, “have you read The Hidden Life of Trees?” That’s a stunner.
If you do read Powers’ book, I recommend you savor the sweet sap from each of the short stories. Then close his novel.
For me, the book lost all magic and appeal once the characters came into contact with one another.
It felt mangled and repetitive. As an environmentalist, I resented Power’s approach: why preach to the choir? What do we make of this fictional exploration of how trees connect us?
I need to know: have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Please leave a comment on below. I am eager to continue this conversation.
HAPPENINGS | 12.1.19
One more submission before 2019?
As this year comes to a close, I ask you to throw your work into the world, just one more time. It can be a single piece, or a collection. It can even be a piece that you are convinced “isn’t great.” Who cares? You wrote. You expressed something. You tried to create and find meaning.
Check out all the places accepting work right now. I promise to submit something fresh as well. Leave a comment below if you end up submitting something or find a publication you are excited about!
That’s it for this Issue V. Thanks for reading The Herd!
Feel free to email me your questions, musings, and writing exercises from our monthly prompt. I might be slow to reply, but I will respond.
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c. December 2019