John Shore:

I think keeping the afterlife a complete mystery is God’s way of telling us to pay maximum attention to the life we have on this side of the door. That the ever-fluid now of our life is where the action is. As clearly as he possibly can, I think he’s telling us to with full and focused consciousness be in our lives. To love our lives. To believe in our lives. To trust that within every single moment of our lives is virtually everything that we could ever want to know.

"Is Hell Real? What Are We, Six?"

Sarah Schulman:

Let's face it -- most people are average and cannot conceptualize beyond what has already been articulated, especially if it is an official point of view.

Ties That Bind, p. 20

Michelle Richmond:

What writer hasn't imagined the moment of recognition, when the impersonal sentences on the page begin to clarify, to coalesce, and the reader looks inside the story and sees himself?

Don't Quit Your Day Job, p. 184

Gustave Flaubert:

Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.

Hugh MacLeod:

In their own way, all artists are entrepreneurs, and all entrepreneurs are artists.

Evil Plans, p. 104

Rachel Held Evans:

Most of the people I've encountered are looking not for a religion to answer all their questions but for a community of faith in which they can feel safe asking them.

Evolving in Monkey Town, p. 222

Austin Kleon:

If there was a secret formula for getting an audience, or gaining a following, I would give it to you.  But there's only one not-so-secret formula that I know: "Do good work and put it where people can see it."

"How to Steal Like an Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)"

Sarah Schulman:

Many of my students find analysis and critical thinking to be emotionally upsetting.  It makes them feel disloyal to their parents and their church and their government.  They would rather not know that what is said on television is often not true.  The consequences of this knowledge are too disruptive, even if the ignorance keeps them from reaching their life goals of having interesting, financially stable jobs.

Ties That Bind, p. 21

Amy continues tea and coffee tour

Amy and fellow poet Randy Foster will continue their coffee house tour this evening at Maxximo Jo's Coffee in Franklin, Tenn. The two will be reading their bitter and sweet, naughty and nice poems about tea and coffee.  Copies of their brand new chapbook, Sugar and Spice and Nothing That's Nice, will be available for purchase, as well as Maxximo Jo's fantastic drinks and homemade gelato.

The "A Poet and a Politician Walk into a Coffee Bar" Tour
Saturday, May 21st, from 7 to 8 p.m.
Maxximo Jo's Coffee
1212 Murfreesboro Road
Franklin, TN  37064
(615) 791-9822

Until then, drink well...

Michelle Richmond:

I always believed that a writer, no matter how she makes her living, is a very lucky person.  Because a writer can take any unpleasantness, any drudgery, any sadness, any comic madness, gather words around that thing, and spin it out into the world like a Frisbee.

Don't Quit Your Day Job, p. 184

Kurt Vonnegut:

There's only one rule I know of: goddamn it, you've got to be kind.

Hugh MacLeod:

The only people who can change the world are people who want to.  And not everybody does.

Evil Plans, p. 66

Rachel Held Evans:

I'm no longer ready to give an answer about everything.  Sometimes I'm not ready because I feel that an answer does not do justice to the seriousness or complexity of the question.  Sometimes I'm not ready to give an answer because I honestly don't know what the best one is.  Sometimes I'm not ready to give an answer because I can tell that the person asking doesn't really want one anyway.

Evolving in Monkey Town, p. 221

Austin Kleon:

I think the more that writing is made into a physical process, the better it is.  You can feel the ink on paper.  You can spread writing all over your desk and sort through it.  You can lay it all out where you can look at it.

"How to Steal Like an Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)"

Sarah Schulman:

Human beings deserve, by virtue of being born, acknowledgement, recognition, interactivity, and negotiation.  To deprive people of that because they have no supporting institution insisting on their rights is unjust.

Ties That Bind, p. 16

Amy to kick off coffee house tour

Amy and fellow poet Randy Foster will kick off their coffee house tour this afternoon at The Coffee Beanery in Franklin, Tenn. The two will be reading their bitter and sweet, naughty and nice poems about tea and coffee.  Come and enjoy a performance dripping with both disdain and delight!  Copies of their brand new chapbook, Sugar and Spice and Nothing That's Nice, will be available for purchase, as well as Coffee Beanery's delicious assortment of sandwiches, drinks and desserts.

The "A Poet and a Politician Walk into a Coffee Bar" Tour
Saturday, May 14th, from 2 to 3 p.m.
The Coffee Beanery
1010 Murfreesboro Road
Franklin, TN  37064
(615) 790-9553

Until then, drink well...

Michelle Richmond:

Being poor per se may not make a person a better writer, but there's a good chance that financial hardship, and a childhood and young adulthood spent on the wrong end of the class struggle, makes a person a more careful observer of humanity.

Don't Quit Your Day Job, p. 180

Hugh MacLeod:

People aren't merely buying your product, your Evil Plan; they are buying the story you are telling...a story that's not just about you, but about them, and what they could be.

Evil Plans, p. 54

Rachel Held Evans:

I suppose that if absolute truth exists, it must be something that we experience indirectly, like the sun.  We see it in shadows, watch it light up the moon, and feel it tingle our skin, but it's generally not a good idea to try to stare at it or claim it as one's own.

Evolving in Monkey Town, p. 221

Austin Kleon:

The more I stay away from the computer, the better my ideas get.  Microsoft Word is my enemy.  I use it all the time at work.  I try to stay away from it the rest of my life.

"How to Steal Like an Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)"

Amy to perform at Women's Work today

Amy will be sharing some of her poetry today at the fifth annual Women's Work festival. Come and enjoy an afternoon of original poetry and spoken word presented by wonderful women wordsmiths.

Sunday, May 8, at 2:30 p.m.
Z. Alexander Looby Theater
Looby Branch Library
2301 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.
Nashville, TN
$5

For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit the Tennessee Women's Theater Project online.

Sarah Schulman:

What makes gay people so ideal as the scapegoat in a family is that they are alone.  Sometimes no one else inside the family is like them or identifies with them.  They become a projection screen, the dumping ground for everyone else's inadequacies and resentments.  In addition, no one else is watching.  No one from the outside will intervene because of the perception that family matters are private and untouchable.  The family structure and its untouchability predominates.  Then, because gay people do not have the full support of their families, they in turn become an ideal social scapegoat.  For, in society, just as in family, no one will intervene.  Society will not intervene in the family, and the family will not intervene in society.  It's a dialogic relationship of oppression.

Ties That Bind, p. 12-13

Silas House:

Snow has a sound.  It sounds like huuuuuuussssssssshhhhhhhh.  Snow sounds like the whole world has stopped moving and everyone is holding their breath.  They can't teach me that in a writing class.

Don't Quit Your Day Job, p. 133

Hugh MacLeod:

If people like buying your product, it's because its story helps fill in the narrative gaps in their own lives.

Evil Plans, p. 46

Rachel Held Evans:

What my generation is learning the hard way is that faith is not about defending conquered ground but about discovering new territory.  Faith isn't about being right, or settling down, or refusing to change.  Faith is a journey, and every generation contributes its own sketches to the map.  I've got miles and miles to go on this journey, but I think I can see Jesus up ahead.

Evolving in Monkey Town, p. 220

John Shore:

Don't undermine your art by failing to master your craft.

"Four Critical Points for Writers"

Amy quoted in Tennessean

Yesterday, The Tennessean featured an article on this month's fifth annual Women's Work festival, including a few of Amy's thoughts about the showcase's poetry program.

Austin Kleon:

Draw the art you want to see, make the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read.

"How to Steal Like an Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)"