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