Throw your hat in the air
Public crying over Little Women, Easter Vigils and book proposal details!
Why I was crying in a coffee shop
I discovered the screenplay for Greta Gerwig’s 2020 adaptation of Little Women, read the whole thing in one sitting, and found myself sobbing at the outdoor coffee shop where I was reading it because it is so beautiful ( it was for research purposes, I promise). I don’t think I’ve ever read a screenplay before? But I read Little Women every year from when I turned 9 until I went to college. I believe I am what they call a superfan. I ADORED Gerwig’s movie adaptation. Reading the screenplay opened a window into the director/writer’s mind and really clarified what I was seeing on the screen. Stunning things like:
The streets of New York. After the Civil War and at the brink of The Industrial Revolution. It is a city in the middle of becoming, the 20th century on the horizon. Horses, trolleys, young, old, black, white, immigrants, returning soldiers, factory workers, wealthy industrialists, fashionable women and poor mothers all crowd the streets.
We find Jo (also becoming) sprinting down the street with utter joy. She has pulled up her skirts and is running full steam. Not lady-running, flat-out RUNNING. For the joy of it.
I love it. (You can read it here).
Anyone else read anything publicly-weep-worthy? Feel free to share in the comments or pop me a reply! :)
Throw your hat in the air - Easter Celebration
This continues to be my favourite quote to read at Easter time (sorry for those of you who know me and are tired of it :D) :
Easter is about the wild delight of God’s creative power–not very Anglican perhaps, but at least we ought to shout Alleluias instead of murmuring them; we should light every candle in the building instead of only some; we should give every man, woman, child, cat, dog, and mouse in the place a candle to hold; we should have a real bonfire; and we should splash water about as we renew our baptismal vows. Every step back from that is a step toward an ethereal or esoteric Easter experience, and the thing about Easter is that it is neither ethereal nor esoteric. It’s about the real Jesus coming out of the real tomb and getting God’s real new creation underway...[Easter week] ought to be an eight-day festival, with champagne served after morning prayer, or even before, with lots of alleluias and extra hymns and spectacular anthems. Is it any wonder people find it hard to believe in the resurrection of Jesus if we don’t throw our hats in the air? Is it any wonder we find it hard to live the resurrection if we don’t do it exuberantly in our liturgies? Is it any wonder the world doesn’t take much notice if Easter is celebrated as simply the one-day happy ending tacked on to forty days of fasting and gloom? …if Lent is a time to give things up, Easter ought to be a time to take things up. Champagne for breakfast again–well, of course.
- NT Wright, Surprised by Hope
I’m ALL about the champagne for breakfast, but since we have a two and four year old, I don’t think that’s really going to happen. As a child, Easter was never as exciting as Christmas, and yet I always felt a bit of guiltiness because I felt it should be. Now that I’m a parent, I’m trying to figure out how to bring the holy joy and celebration into Easter… so while we might not have champagne for breakfast, we will be trying to find ways to spread excitement and joy through this holiday. We’re trying a new experiment of hosting our own GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER. (Guys, the name alone is EPIC).
Essentially it is: bonfire on Saturday night + dramatic Bible stories, lots of banging of pots and bells and hallelujahs, also some apple cider toasts.
Easter Vigils have been held by the church for many years, drawing on the Jewish Passover tradition of re-telling God’s story of redemption. In the same way that Jesus opened the scriptures on the road to Emmaus, Christians trace the story of our rescue through the Old Testament, up until the Resurrection. We’re not going to an in-person service because of tiny kids + a pandemic, but the good thing about an outdoor bonfire is it can include neighbours and friends!
You can download a FREE sample of what we are going to try and do here. I’ve essentially just dramatised the 9 scripture readings, with ideas of how to make it interactive for children (BUT ALSO ADULTS BECAUSE LET’S BE HONEST ITS MORE FUN THIS WAY). Super simple. If you want the whole thing, you can download it for $4 from the shop here.
If you do it, please let me know! I’d love to know what works for you all and what doesn’t!
Newsletter feedback & Placemaker Giveaway!
Thank you to everyone who filled out my survey - you have 2 more days to fill it out, and then it will be closed, and I’ll randomly draw a winner for the book Placemaker. So far, it sounds like people overwhelmingly prefer 2 newsletters a month. (Sorry to those of you who prefer a quieter inbox! I promise I won’t barge in too much!!).
Book Report & Rejection slips:
Many of you asked for more details on the book I’m (trying) to write! Since I want to write a nonfiction book, at this stage I’m working on the proposal. This means I’m trying to outline the book, rustle up a few sample chapters, and write about the topic on other platforms to prove to potential publishers that people are interested in reading about this. You, by reading and sharing this newsletter are a huge part of helping me pitch this proposal! Thank you! (How do I know how to do all these things you ask? Hope*writers — a group launched by Emily P. Freeman. Check them out).
The book is exploring the idea of how to make space for both motherhood and creativity - in my own life, and by looking at other writing mothers throughout literary history. From Anne Bradstreet, the first American poet (and mother to 8 children) to Madeline L’Engle (author of a gazillion published works including A Wrinkle In Time) I’m trying to track down tidbits and facts about how they balanced (or didn’t!) motherhood and writing. We all have limitations: time, space, money, race, class — and motherhood adds extra limits — so how did these women who lacked washing machines and birth control find space in the midst of these limitations to create? How did they assert their full humanity, as creative people created in the image of God, despite the limitations they experienced? Is it just the patriarchy telling me I can’t be a writer and a mother together? That I need 15 quiet hours a day? Or is there another way?
So far, I’ve managed to collect 1 article rejection slip, and 1 poetry rejection slip… they say you’re not a real writer until you collect 100, so… here we go!
Tiny House Peek
(This is a pretty accurate reflection of how the house looks most days, even after cleaning up (with my helper!) … With two under age 4, it means the pillows are always on the floor and there is almost always some form of duplo, blocks, or magnatiles underfoot. But at least it tidies up quickly!
Thanks so much for reading, and of course for giving your feedback! See you around April 15th! If you haven’t subscribed to this newsletter , you can- -here:
Steph! I’m so excited for you working on this proposal. It’s long tedious work, and you can do it!
I’m reading Kate Baer’s What Kind Of Woman right now, and it makes me weep. I’ve yet to be reading it in public but if I do it’s definitely in the public weeding category.