"Each sentence hung over an abyssal ocean or sky which held all possibilities, as well as the possibility of nothing." Writing used to be a sensual joy. It's more pounding now, more churning out material, wondering how to not get lost in the sea of sentences now ebbing and flowing in swift currents and tides. …
The Unmerited Grace of the Work
"At its best, the sensation of writing is that of any unmerited grace. It is handed to you, but only if you look for it. You search, you break your heart, your back, your brain, and then--and only then--it is handed to you." --Annie Dillard, The Writing Life Odd isn't it, that there is work …
The Feral Work in the Next Room
Annie Dillard's The Writing Life. I should have read it back in February, when I first began approaching my current project. Funny thing is, the image she describes in the following paragraph is one I have kept in the back of my mind for years. A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts …
You as Parable
If folks a thousand years from now preach sermons on your life, what would they walk away with... Those are the opening lyrics to a song I wrote several years ago. My reading yesterday in IMAGE journal reminded me of it by way of an interview with Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus of Old Testament studies …
Be Jeff
Over at The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin has a list of personal commandments, the first of which is "Be Gretchen." If you read the "Be Gretchen" post, you discover something rare: someone reflecting on the sadness of what it means to be yourself. To be your "self" means to choose to not be (and …
JEFF BERRYMAN 