Hello dear friends,
I have no essay for you this month, but work keeps going on a number of projects including continuing to pitch a picture book on Gandhi’s life in South Africa (know any picture book publishers?) and a South African ‘Slice of life” picture book. I realised I really love working on picture books because they are so collaborative. The biggest newsletter announcement is I have turned on paid subscriptions. The majority of content on my Substack will be free! But if you ever wondered how to support my creative work, becoming a paid subscriber is a great way to do so. Thank you to those of you who pledged support and made me brave enough to turn on paid subscriptions. :)
If you click the button below, you can sign up at a $5 month level, or increase it to more.
I apologize to my readers who don’t practice Lent - as this is quite a “lenty” post, and I want everyone who is interested in the intersection of justice + beauty to feel welcome here. But, this is where my brain is at this month! General musings on literature with themes of Justice + Beauty (and perhaps even an author interview) are in the works and will continue next time. But here are a three links that made me think, and I hope will give you something to ponder.
Just Beautiful Links
The tension between work & creativity…. felt by the author of Madam Bovary made me laugh. Seems as though mothers are always worried about their offspring eating. And feels like Flaubert is a bit of an arrogant chap and thinks he is above this creative gig economy we are all trying (and failing) at! Although he is on to something - it is hard! “I must have a job—“a small job,” you say. First of all, what job? I defy you to find me one, to specify in what field, or what it would be like. Frankly, and without deluding yourself, is there a single one that I am capable of filling? You add: “One that wouldn’t take up much of your time and wouldn’t prevent you from doing other things.” There’s the delusion! That’s what I told myself when I began law, which nearly brought about my death from suppressed rage. When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at night are made for mediocre minds—like those horses equally good for saddle and carriage—the worst kind, that can neither jump a ditch nor pull a plow”.
Gustave Flaubert, Letter to his mother, 23rd February 1850 From The Letters of Gustave Flaubert: 1830-1857 (Source: Letters of Note)
This village where everyone has dementia, but everyone is treated with dignity — and ends up living longer, and happier, because of it! The village has a shop, a post office, and the trappings of a “normal village”, but the care-givers are dressed as townspeople (or, for example, the postman). They work to furnish homes for dementia patients with items from the year in which they lost their memories - it just sounds like such a creative way to lessen the anxiety of dementia. (via Other Feminisms)
The Orchestra who came to tea !! There is a video clip of this flash-mob orchestra, and it is just a moment of collective JOY. The author of this newsletter is a children’s book illustrator and she shares: “ I’ve realised how absolutely obsessed I am by these moments of pure creativity and unexpected joy. There is something ridiculously wonderful about the moment someone bursts into song or dance and a whole mob joins them. It makes me wonder what other good things we are capable of when we move as a group, listen to those around us and seek to create something amazing with our individual parts.” In a subsequent newsletter she shares about the justice of orchestras like this - is it silly to have orchestras when people can’t eat? And she shares the story of someone who opened a door for her to encounter classical music — which shaped her life. It makes me want to A. find an orchestra concert and B. invite a kid who has never been!
(Image above by the author/artist Gillian O’Mara, from her newsletter, A light on the sea)
ALL THE LENT LINKS (with some Southern Hemisphere Specific!)
If you have kids (or even if you don’t!) here is a link to purchase my printable Lent family devotion cards. Each card has a picture on one side, and the text from an excerpt in Luke on the back. There are about 4 per week. Purchasing these is a way to cover my website fees - another way to support my writing is to become a paid subscriber on Substack. :) These are hemisphere neutral.
Here is a link to a playlist I made for Lent. It includes some instrumental music, some “kids” music, and also a few South African songs (University of Johannesburg, We Will Worship). Thanks to Erin Moon for a great playlist to base it off of. I recommend playing it on “shuffle”, as the songs are in no particular order.
Here are some prayer cards I created, that can be printed A5 or A6 size front and back. They could be punched and hung like a banner with little pegs? Or displayed one at a time - each card has a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer on the back (Ash Wednesday Collect, Prayer of Confession, and some Lenten Collects). I have not included every collect for every Sunday, but there is one card for every week of Lent. They feature watercolor of spur flowers which I painted, which bloom in South Africa this time of year. These are free!
A 2-page PDF for people celebrating Lent in the Southern Hemisphere or, specifically in South Africa. Page 1 is kind of an overview, page 2 has a closer look at some flowers and birds in South Africa (and, I believe, places in the Southern Hemisphere such as Australia? Brazil?) and how they can remind us of Lent. This is free! For friends in the Northern Hemisphere, I was inspired by Hearthstone Fables - you should check it out for Northern Hemisphere liturgical resources. Adorable!!
Thanks friends, that is all for this month!
X Steph
PS. Another great way to support this newsletter if you don’t have $5 a month is to share it with a friend!
I am excited about those children's picture books! And thought of Gillian O'Mara's work, then was delighted to see her mentioned further down. Thanks for all these lovely resources Steph.