"This work is unlike any other, in its range of rich, conjuring imagery and its dexterity, its smart voice. Carroll-Hackett doesn’t spare us—but doesn’t save us—she draws a blueprint of power and class with her unflinching pivot: matter-of-fact and tender." —Jan Beatty

Posts tagged ‘micro fiction’

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Community

30 March 2020

Make art about the changing nature of community in these times. 

community

 

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Oh the Music

29 March 2020

“If music be the food of love, play on”–Shakespeare

Make art about the power of music, the power of song, of singing, alone or together, in difficult times. 

song

 

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 In Praise

28 March 2020

“Try to praise the mutilated world.
Remember June’s long days,
and wild strawberries, drops of wine, the dew….”

From “Try to Praise the Mutilated World” by Adam Zagajewski
(Translation by Clare Cavanagh)

Read the full poem here.

Make art today in praise, praising something, praising whatever is lifting your heart. 

praise

 

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Creature Comforts

27 March 2020

My four-leggeds are so much company and solace, even more than usual, right now.  

Make art about the comfort of critters, about what animal companions bring to our lives, especially in times of stress. 

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Elders

26 March 2020 

My grandmothers. Two women from completely different worlds, cultures, backgrounds, across a vast socioeconomic divide, brought together at the end of their lives, because my parents loved each other, and loved them.

From Miz Pearl I learned about survival, food preservation, foraging, mending, how to find and create beauty even on the darkest days, and the power of prayer, especially when it’s sung. From Miz Ann I learned about the joy to be found in making things with your hands, the value of being a smartass, the pervasive connection of laughter, which fork to use 🙂 and how even the brashest and most self-regarding among us can learn the power of gratitude and humility. 

Fierce women, strong women, wise women, loving women, despite the brokenness life dealt both of them. When they lived together, sharing the same room in my parents’ house, in the twilight of their lives, they became unlikely friends and sisters. ‘Cause that’s what Love does.

Make art about what you’ve learned from elders, about the gifts they bring to our lives. 

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Sustaining

25 March 2020 

Make art about sustenance, about seeking it, about finding it, about what sustains you.

sustenance

 

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Empty, Not Empty

24 March 2020 

Silence never seems actually silent to me, as if empty rooms, if we listen, are breathing and speaking. 

Make art about the sounds of empty rooms. 

empty rooms

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Together

23 March 2020

Even though we’re social distancing, we’re not alone. People everywhere are showing so much imagination and commitment to reaching out across the imposed distance.  

Make art about coming together, about the strength we have when we come together, about how much more is possible we come together. 

coming together

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Regular Comfort

22 March 2020

One of the ways I’m coping with self-isolation is by working to keep what I can of my daily and weekly routines.

Waking at the same time I would if going to campus to work, walking the dog at the same times along the same route each day. That quiet cup of coffee in the morning, the slow ease of a glass of red wine at night. 

Wednesdays I strip the beds, wash sheets, and put crisp, new bed linens on, with assistance from a particularly ‘helpful’ cat 😀

Saturday mornings I clean and wash the litter boxes, empty out and clean my fridge, mop the hardwood floors, clean the bathroom.

These small acts so much a part of my ‘normal’ weekly schedule, I’m finding, are helping to make the crisis we’re all sharing a bit less overwhelming, providing some balance in a regular, now-that’s-better, way. 

“Routine” as a descriptor often gets a bad rap, but right now, it feels a lot like comfort. 

Make art about the comfort to be found in routines. 

routine

Quarantine Prompt a Day <3 Growing

21 March 2020

Make art about growing, about growth, especially growing through difficult circumstances. 

growth

 

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