Write a series of odes to inanimate objects that hold importance in your life. Things that you rely on every day. Imagine your life without them, then tell them what they’re worth. And if there happen to be some living things you rely on everyday…write about them too.
Attack something. Get on your soap box. Rant. Curse. Be unfair. Be ruthless. And then apologize. But not til you’re ready. Take your time. You have a week…
This week, give us your version of the seasons and the weather that comes with them. The traditional and the non-traditional. Help us understand the seasons by how you experience or personify them.
Write a series of love letters this week to a film or fictional icon that you’ve had a “complicated relationship” with trying to unpack the meaning of their representation or a love letter to an old teddy bear in your room, a tree in your backyard or . . . someone you actually love and haven’t told in awhile.
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening
that is translated through you into action,
and because there is only one of you in all time,
this expression is unique.
If you block it,
it will never exist through any other medium
and be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is;
nor how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly,
to keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.
You have to keep it open and aware directly
to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open.
No artist is pleased.
There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.
There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction;
a blessed unrest that keeps us marching
and makes us more alive that the others.
Martha Graham to Agnes De Mille
it’s not the crutches we decry
it’s the need to move forward
though we haven’t the strength
women aren’t allowed to need
so they develop rituals
since we all know working hands idle
the devil
women aren’t supposed to be strong
so they develop social smiles
and secret drinking problems
and female lovers whom they never touch
except in dreams
men are supposed to be strong
so they have heart attacks
and develop other women
who don’t know their weaknesses
and hide their fears
behind male lovers
whom they religiously touch
each saturday morning on the basketball court
it’s considered a sign of health doncha know
that they take such good care
of their bodies
i’m trying to say something about the human condition
maybe i should try again
Nikki Giovanni
Your life has been published as a book. The author is someone who “knew” you well. What is the title of that book? Write the blurb that would appear on the back of your book.
http://www.sabrinawardharrison.com/ee/index.php/sabstudio/tlp/
From AT.AW:
“Considering that it’s winter, it only seemed apt to do some ice hands…just fill up some latex gloves, freeze them and you’re set for any sort of mischief.”
Typically when someone tells you they are lactose intolerant they do it with a mournful look on their face. The face of someone who is missing out on some of the best parts of life because something is terribly wrong with their bodies. Usually the mournful look is met with sympathy from the person they are talking to. What a poor poor soul, not able to digest lactose. Even now as a vegan I have fallen into this all too typical scenario of feeling sorry for the lactose intolerant. Of course I use it as an opportunity to talk about veganism but I unconsciously give them that “sympathy look” nonetheless. The problem is that we have been conditioned to think of lactose intolerance as if it were a disease when in fact it is a normal process of life.
Mammals only need to produce the enzyme lactase (the digestive enzyme that breaks down lactose) until they are weaned. For humans this is somewhere between 2-4 years old. After that we are officially weaned from our mother’s milk and ready to get our complete nutrients from solid foods. According to Drs. Marie Boyle and Sara Long in their book Personal Nutrition 70% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant. With a greater incidence among people of African descent, Mediterranean decent, Native Americans and Asians. Here’s a quick breakdown of the incidence of lactose intolerance amongst people of color:
· Blacks/African Americans – 80%
· Native Americans – 80-100%
· Asians – 90-100%
It is clear that the “lactose intolerant” are not so much the odd man out, who is afflicted with a horrible disease, but instead someone with a normally functioning digestive system. I believe it’s time to turn the tide and change the way we think and talk about lactose intolerance. When someone mentions the fact they or someone they know is lactose intolerant our response should be “Great! So is over 70% of the world’s population” and then explain why. For me, after all the extremely compelling reasons to go vegan were presented to me the one thing that stood out to me the most (and what is ultimately the reason I went vegan) was what an unnatural process it is for an adult mammal to drink the milk of another species. What makes it even more appalling is the cruelty associated with the production of cow’s milk to feed a population that is literally being made sick by it. Changing the perception of lactose intolerance is just one small way to change the way that people think of the milk and milk products that they hold so dear. And you never know, someone like me might hear this information and not only go vegan but stay vegan.
Sources:
National Institute of Health (National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse)
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/
Boyle, M. A., & Long, S. (2007). Personal Nutrition(6th Edition ed.). Belmont, CA, USA: Thomson Wadsworth.
The Women’s Creative Collective for Change was founded in 2006 in Los Angeles, California. If you would like more information about our organization, email connect@womenscreativecollective.org.