Working With the *Literary Impulse* Team Was a Fun Collaboration
On the 2020 Hiraeth writing challenge
Melissa Bee led me to a writing challenge hosted by Literary Impulse in 2020. When the seven prompt winners were announced, I was surprised and grateful to see my name listed alongside Gayle Kurtzer-Meyers, Paroma Sen, Kim McKinney, Radha Kapadia, RH, and Sanka Rathnabarana for our efforts in writing poetry and creative nonfiction.
This challenge granted me the opportunity to read exquisite writing from the submissions to this final round that was chosen. I didn’t realize there would be the next step. And, that next step would be polishing and revising our drafts to get them in top condition for publishing in a literary collection of our words.
Meandering hiraeth + new prompt challenge invitation
First, what is “hiraeth”?
Hiraeth (pronounced [hiraɪ̯θ]) is a Welsh concept of longing for home, which can be loosely translated as ‘nostalgia’, or, more commonly, ‘homesickness’. Many Welsh people claim ‘hiraeth’ is a word which cannot be translated, meaning more than solely “missing something” or “missing home.” To some, it implies the meaning of missing a time, an era, or a person. It is associated with the bittersweet memory of missing something or someone, while being grateful of that/ their existence. — definitions.com
Participating in this challenge took me outside of my routine thinking. It inspired me to write something different. As I reflected on the word hiraeth my memory took me to the idea of Swansea, Wales — a place I never went — to pursue a Ph.D. When I sat down and put my fingers on the keyboard, the words started flowing out. Hiraeth is exactly the word I’d been looking for to describe the feeling of almost that had always escaped me when trying to write about this phase of life.
I encourage you to check out the Literary Impulse current prompt challenge. Perhaps you will recall memory and be inspired to craft a poem or piece of creative nonfiction to submit to the challenge.
Working with the editorial team of Literary Impulse was delightful. They are wonderful at communicating — a skill I highly value. I had the honor of working on my story with Somsubhra Banerjee and Priyanka Srivastava in Google Docs to edit and finalize my essay for the e-book collection. The revision process was a smooth, fast, and fun learning experience.
The editors of Literary Impulse chose beautiful works of art to accompany each of the seven pieces of poetry and creative nonfiction. I adore the painting they chose for me. It feels like it is me, sitting in respite in my backyard garden.
I’d be honored if you’d support Literary Impulse and all the writers in this collaboration by purchasing the e-book, which is available for $5 here.
