It's the Epiphany Episode
Rosemerry & Christie reflect on the year in creative practice and look forward
“If I gave you a magic wand …”—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Preview: Episode 102 on the Creative Year
Every year, Rosemerry and Christie reflect on what happened in their creative lives in the past year and what they are looking forward to next year. This year is full of surprises—what matters and what doesn’t. What we’re willing to do and what we’re not. We chose new words for 2024 to help guide our practice, and as always we handed out magic wands to help see what we most wish to explore. It’s a lot of laughter and thoughtfulness—but you probably expected that.
What We’re Reading and Listening to:
Rosemerry:
Can we imagine peace amongst nations? Can we wish for harmony and understanding? My favorite singing group, Voces 8, has a version of Sibelius’ “Finlandia Hymn” (which makes me cry every time) with new lyrics that explore peace and generosity of spirit, in a wonderful, complicated, ecstatic arrangement by their tenor, Blake Morgan. It’s so moving … the music, the arrangement, the lyrics, the singing. wow.
A fabulous children’s book made for adults came to me this Christmas … How to Write a Poem, by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido … it’s just magic, with art by Melissa Sweet. For poets, for not poets, for kids, for really old folks ;)
Christie:
I loved The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. A captivating story about grief and outdoor survival, set in Alaska. Memorable characters and vivid setting.
My mom gave me The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez for Christmas and I nearly read it all the first night (I will surely finish after I complete this newsletter). I am a huge Nunez fan and her latest did not disappoint. So many sage musings on life and even writing. The novel takes place in the heart of the pandemic and a parrot is a prominent character.
The annual The Lives They Lived feature at the New York Times is one of my favorite year-end specials. I love the perspective it takes and the lovely tributes it offers to people world famous and not quite as well known. This year, I was devastated to learn through this package that Susan Love had died over the summer (I was on vacation when she passed, and somehow missed the initial obituaries.) I interviewed Love a dozen or more times over the many years that I wrote about breast cancer, and I always appreciated her frankness, honesty and sass. She made such a difference in so many women’s lives, and changed the conversation around breast cancer treatment. There were so many other amazing people profiled too — Rosalynn Carter, Tina Turner and that Sinead O’Connor, among others.
At the Edge of a New Year
I think of a year ago
and all I did not know.
I do not hold my innocence
against myself.
If there is a future me,
I toast her tonight.
May she look back at me
as I light this white candle
and whisper love into the flame.
May her thoughts be generous
as she remembers
how it is to live
with this heart,
both ruined
and burnished by loss.
As I toe the edge of the year,
the edge of the moment,
I imagine her waiting
on the other side, saying,
Jump, sweetheart, jump,
I’ve got you.
Or perhaps she says
nothing at all,
but stands there as I do now
looking back,
arms impossibly open.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
A Note About Paid Subscriptions:
First, we want to thank ALL our subscribers! We are so grateful you join us in this conversation about what it is to engage with yourself, the world and others in a creative way. And a BIG thank you to our paid subscribers. You make this podcast possible. Starting this month, only our paid subscribers will receive our bonus episodes as a thank you for their financial support.
This week, we asked our past guests to talk about their creative epiphanies in 2023—they range from practical to um, gross, to soooo sweet! If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can go now to our website, EmergingForm.substack.com, or by clicking the button below. Thank you!
Two Questions:
(share your answers with us here on Substack or in our FB group)
If you had a magic wand to help you with any creative project, what would you wish for?
What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2024?
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