The Assemblage Newsletter #70
Welcome to this week’s newsletter from Assemblage. These newsletters go out every Friday to highlight some of the top works from the past week. We hope these links (all friend links, so anyone can view them) find you reaching out for Spring, and in so doing, for hope.
“I’m not saying abolish group work — I think there’s a time and a place for people to come together and exchange ideas, but let’s restore the respect we once had for solitude. And we need to be much more mindful of the way we come together.” — Susan Cain
It’s been hard to come together for almost a year now, but when we are able to again, maybe it would benefit us all if we were more mindful about how we do. Think about it. How much time have we wasted on mindless gatherings and how much could be gained from mindful ones?
Featured Writer
Each week we feature one of our writers and up to six of their essays or poems on the homepage underneath the Featured Essays and Featured Poems sections. This week our Featured Writer is Carlyn Beccia. Carlyn is an author and illustrator. Check out five of her essays on our homepage this week.
Collection
Collections are groupings of essays or poems with an overall theme. You can find Collections on the home page underneath the Featured Stories, Featured Poetry, and Featured Writer sections.
Throwback features 8 different works from 8 different writers from the early days of Assemblage, back on Medium. This section is a great way to get acquainted with multiple works around one theme, as well as to find writers you haven’t read before or ones you shouldn’t miss. Take a look at our Collection this week and see what you may have missed.
Throwback features one work each from Brian Fehler, Michelle Elizabeth, Vanessa Torre, Blithe Anderson, A Singular Story, Jonathan Greene, Maggie Lupin, and Jessica Lovejoy.
Essays and Poems From Last Week
“I spent most of my life getting lost
sleeping under the stars
with spilled thoughts, spoiled words, serenely siphoned decanted wine,
and filtered sentences framed to fit my empty canvas.”
The Act of Writing by Jonathan Greene
“The act of writing is a solitary one for me. A journey inward and then a release outward. But it’s only for me, in a sense. The act of writing allows my inner turmoil a way out. And in so doing, it frees me of that weight.”
“ghosting through the desert
like dry glitches of wind pulse,
you almost hope for lightning
to remote you in”
How To Write About People In Your Past by Melissa Kerman
“That’s what writers do. We construct rich interior worlds, then extract our thoughts and experiences to deconstruct our exterior worlds. If you’ve ever been moved by a personal essay, it’s because you felt connected to the writer’s perception, thus unearthing your experiences and challenging your purview.”
“(yes, even death, a gift sparkling
fiercely in the naked sun of awareness)
if we only stop our endless doing
and breathe.”
I Hope You Find A Love That Unravels You by Megan Minutillo
“A love that unravels you makes you feel calm and soft and serene. A love that unravels you brings you back to earth when you are getting lost within your thoughts — and holds your hands as you make your way back to solid ground.”
You’re No One’s Missing Puzzle Piece by Niki Marinis
“The idea that you’re missing something without a significant other in your life destroys self-esteem and self-worth, leaves you feeling empty and hollow in your being and in your heart.”
Weekly Note
“We are mindful of desire when we experience it with an embodied awareness, recognizing the sensations and thoughts of wanting as arising and passing phenomena. While this isn’t easy, as we cultivate the clear seeing and compassion of Radical Acceptance, we discover we can open fully to this natural force, and remain free in its midst.” — Tara Brach
Wouldn’t it be nice not to want? Wouldn’t it be nice to open fully and remain free? We should be trying to pry ourselves a bit more open each day, for no one but ourselves.
