Pearls My Mother Wore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can I blame my inability to get organized on spring?  It’s like being drunk; I’m full of a bunch of great ideas, but nothing’s getting accomplished.  I look out the window, the sun is shinning, a light breeze is blowing, and I think, “Go out and enjoy the day.”  But then the question is, “How?”  Should I go for a hike, ride my bike, sun bathe, pull weeds and clean up the garden, wash the car, drive to the ocean?  There’s the Sonoma Mission Inn nearby; I could go to the spa and hangout poolside with a book.

But because it’s spring, a dark cloud has now floated overhead, casting an entirely different light on the day.  Maybe staying indoors is the way to go.  I could curl up in my overstuffed chair and watch movies.  I could make several of those phone calls that I’ve been meaning to make.  I could write some e-mails and try to drum up some action for Pearls My Mother Wore.  Oh, that reminds me, I need to invoice the two local bookstores for my book revenues.  Um, that does sound like work.  What else could I do today?  I could rearrange the furniture, but the house is so small that the furniture really only fits in this one configuration.  Maybe I should go buy a bunch of new furniture, better yet, a new house!  Now I am sounding drunk.

Perhaps you’ve noticed.  Not on my list of possibilities is that I could write.  I’m tapping out this blog, and sure, that’s writing, but it’s not fiction writing.  I’m beginning to wonder if I’m avoiding something.

Last Sunday evening I went to San Francisco and the Five Points Arthouse to be part of a supportive audience for several writers and one musician.  The well-attended gathering takes place once a month and is presented by the Portuguese Artists Colony (PAC).  PAC is self-described as “a collection of untrustworthy characters” that write and perform poetry, fiction, plays, screenplays, and music.  Uncivil behavior is encouraged.  Nevertheless, I found the crowd to be entirely civil and discerning in a refreshing and undeniably San Francisco sort of way.  Copy and paste this link into your browser if you’d like to read a most amusing account of how the Portuguese Artist Colony was founded:

http://portugueseartistscolony.blogspot.com/p/origins.html

Part of the evening included a “Live Writing” throw down.  Upon arrival, each of the audience members was encourage to vote, from a short list of choices, on a prompt.  Four invited writers were then given the phrase and ten or so minutes to produce something to read aloud.

While they wrote, we were fortunate to be entertained by Quinn Deveaux who played guitar and sang a few blues tunes he’d composed.  To learn more about Quinn and his music, search:  www.quinndeveaux.com In August he will be opening for Aaron Neville at Stern Grove, SF.

The four writers were Matthew James DeCoster, Lauren Eggert-Crowe, Lady Monster, and James Warner.  The prompt was, “Did you feel that?”  James Warner won the write-off with an unexpected short about tables that were bouncing off the walls.  His prize?  An invitation to develop the story and return next month to present a completed version.

The four stories that came out of the writers’ challenge were each fabulous.  I was so impressed by the creativity that was called up on demand.  It made me question my own resistance to creative writing.  I feel pretty safe here with the blog, but plunging back into my imagination has me digging in.  That’s what I’m avoiding.  Maybe I’ll have just one more drink of spring, and tomorrow I’ll write that great American novel…

Enjoy the week, and I’ll post again next Friday.

 

This entry was posted on Friday, May 27th, 2011 at 9:07 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.