Welcome to The Herd!
The Herd is a bimonthly literary newsletter that celebrates artists, community, and the possibility of new paradigms. Each issue features writing prompts, interviews, literature reviews, and more. Subscribe here!
The Herd is curated by Allie Rigby, with invitations for Herders to submit their work for the annual June Bloom. If you’ve subscribed to the newsletter, you are officially part of The Herd. Feel free to leave a comment on our most recent issue and introduce yourself.
Not receiving the bimonthly issues? Please check your spam or promotions folder if you haven’t been receiving our monthly issues. Email me if you’re still not seeing The Herd in your inbox!
The Herd is a bimonthly literary newsletter that celebrates artistic expression and seeks to be a platform for artists who build community and foster local and global connection.
FAQs of The Herd:
1) What is the purpose of this newsletter?
1a) to celebrate artists’s individual and collective practices
1b) to create a space that celebrates the power of artistic expression and highlights upcoming workshops, shows, openings, publications, musings, and more
1c) to elevate fellow artists, writers, change-makers, and community—ie., to support each other as people who use the arts to express themselves, build worlds, and enact change
2) Cool! But specifically, like—what is this newsletter?
If you are subscribed, you will receive a bimonthly email towards the beginning of each month featuring writing prompts, Artist Highlights, literature reviews, upcoming poetry workshops that I occasionally offer, personal reflections, upcoming events listed by anyone in The Herd (just email me to include your event in the Happenings section) and more.
Each issue of The Herd is an opportunity to engage in conversations around art, activism, mental health, social justice, environmentalism, intersectional feminism, and more.
3) If it’s not for me, can I unsubscribe?
Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time. For a fee. (Just kidding).
4) Are you open to feedback for future issues?
Always. I hope that this newsletter will continue to evolve and grow.
Remnants from the 1st Issue*
Artist Highlight August 2019
Emily Nadel is “inspired by the everyday.”
Artist Emily Nadel is beading her days into brilliant colors and patterns. The fellow Herd member admits that she loves “making things, but creating is often the first thing I drop when there is a lot going on.”
How does this artist keep their creative fires alive during busy times? Emily has some ideas, but it depends on all else going on too.
When too busy to bead, Emily gathers ideas about colors and textures she’d like to use. When less busy, she takes her materials to create outside. You can follow Emily’s art, buy a sweet pair of earrings, and connect here.
How to Nominate a Creativity Feature
Anyone who receives The Herd can get this creativity shout-out. If you’d like to nominate someone you know for the next “Creativity Feature,” please ask them to subscribe to The Herd, or if they already are, email me with an introduction about yourself and your practice.
Writing Prompt:
La Cucaracha: 10-minute prompt
I opened a book about cockroaches the other day. I struggle to appreciate these insects, but I did learn that they can sing—just like crickets—by rubbing their legs or wings together. Sometimes they do this just for the sake of creating sounds, while other times they want to attract a mate. For this prompt, take 10 minutes (or more) to write about an insect that also has a secret talent. What does it do? Do other species appreciate this talent or is the insect misunderstood?
For example, I could write about a termite that makes the best cupcakes and needs a new space for their kitchen, or a dragonfly that’s the #1 figure skater in their pond.
Tip: Time yourself for 10 minutes. It may seem excruciatingly long, or conversely, like not enough time. Commit to 10 minutes and see what happens.
Quick Lit Review:
Ross Gay offers “the small joys” in his latest.
In The Book of Delights, poet Ross Gay records “the small joys […] that we often overlook in our busy lives.”
He wrote this genre-bending collection in one year, and a tough year at that. As a black man in America, Gay celebrates life, and also examines the reality of racial inequality in America. On every page, Gay carves space for gratitude.
You can watch him read from the collection here. The clip offers two poems, including one about carrying a tomato onboard.
Happenings:
Spaces in “Writing the Self Wild” workshop.
There are still a few spaces available in the writing workshop on October 20th! For this all-day event, we will get to release the pressure sometimes associated with writing. Instead, we will enjoy our day together and indulge the naturally curious and creative self.
We will be outside for most of the day, with shade and sun options. Please bring warm layers. Click here for details about the workshop.
That’s it for this first issue!
Thanks for subscribing and reading The Herd. Spread the word if you like what you received. And keep celebrating what creativity means to you.
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.
c. August 2019