In the first meeting of the ‘Twirl’ Book Club, we consider how Callie Feyen got her lightning back (and found a way to wear heels again).
Friendship Onstage and Off: Walking with the Wind
A sudden interruption and the whole play’s at risk—at least for actress Laurie Klein. The director remains a friend, wise and warm, as the drama unfolds.
The Art of the Handwritten Letter: A (Typed) Letter on Handwriting
Sara Barkat writes about the power of handwriting, where paper and ink let a single word grow to fill a line, or fold itself up small.
The Handwritten Letter: How To Tell A Friend You Adore Her
Author and teacher Callie Feyen tells the heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship sealed with a legacy of handwritten letters.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Lost in Translation
In this week’s discussion of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass we consider the power of language to affirm a thing’s existence and the tragedy of a language’s loss.
Gratitude Together: Now Our Minds Are One
Robin Wall Kimmerer asks, “Can we agree to be grateful for all that is given?” Ask yourself: Who is my “we”? Then, try these 5 great ideas for creating more gratitude, together.
Braiding Sweetgrass: No One Asked the Plants
In the context of the study of plants, author and scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer learned to see the relationships joining us to the natural world. Our discussion of Braiding Sweetgrass continues.
Braiding Sweetgrass: Gifts of Ritual Together
We’re discussing Robin Wall Kimmerer’s rich and thoughtful Braiding Sweetgrass this month. Today, we consider the communal gifts of the earth and remembering, but not before doing a little yoga.
Gratitude Together: So This Is Friendship
A friendship built around love of breakfast and Ted Kooser yields a surprising poem in difficult days.
On Reading, Walking, and Boundary Crossing
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Gratitude Together: Leftover Astonishments
“Do you know any of Anna Kamienska’s poetry? ‘Astonishments’ is my favorite,” Callie Feyen texted to her friend Stephanie. “I’ve been contemplating the last two lines of her ‘Gratitude’ poem: ‘Gratitude is a scattered / homeless love.’”
Literary Friends: Charles Dickens, John Forster, Jane Carlyle, and Me
“I’d decided going to graduate school was a mistake, and began to make plans to give up,” says Callie Feyen. “Enter Charles Dickens, John Forster, and Jane Carlyle.”
Literary Friends: Peter Pan Meets Sherlock Holmes
The friendship of James M. Barrie, who wrote “Peter Pan,” and Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, survived parody, cricket, and literary fame.
Literary Friends: Keeping Anna Akhmatova Alive
Anna Akhmatova’s friends memorized her poems to keep her work alive when it was too dangerous to put pen to paper. Sandra Heska King spotlights this life and death role of literary friends.
From the Poet: Blue of the Heaps of Beads
“I always come back to the love poem, and I always come back to the Ozarks,” says Dave Malone. Enjoy this excerpt from his collection, O: Love Poems from the Ozarks.
Cross-Generational Friendships: Where’s My Daughter? Call Her Forth
One glimmering night, three generations, and a whole lot of love—with a little Shakespeare to flavor the memory. From author Callie Feyen.
Cross-Generational Friendships: I Signed Up for a Toddler Swim Class
Join Claire Haidar as the beach umbrella among little bottles of suntan lotion (or, the grownup in the toddler swim class) in this delightful cross-generational story.
Difficult Conversations: Disorganized Narrative Inside
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Cross-Generational Friendships—Wanted: Inquisitive Angel
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Difficult Conversations: Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
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