Instructions From the Muse
Writing from the heart
means giving up snorkeling for scuba-diving.
Reading from the heart
is exactly the same but by braille.
The real importance of spelling is this:
Writing is magic
reaching into chaos
bringing forth thought
in imitation
of the word
made flesh.
Magic.
God and man
casting spells exactly
to make it so.
Talking with a friend today about the challenge of embracing parts of ourselves we don't like, and he kiddingly said, "Bury them."
Without thinking, I replied, "That's where zombies come from." The image stayed with me long after the call ended.
I often wonder why certain archetypes or tales become ascendant in a culture, but had never thought about this particular phenomenon. Subconsciously, it is almost impossible to really kill aspects of ourselves, but their repression allows a single-minded purpose to eventually take over the psyche. Such behavior is highly reactive, spreads quickly (except to those inoculated by therapy perhaps), can't be reasoned with, and is inherently destructive: The Zombie Apocalypse isn't just a movie, it's our reality!
But then I had another, more personal, thought about a buried story. The zombie inmate might just be my unknown father. I was stunned by how little I knew about his absence might have affected my behavior and influenced my life choices.
And so, I needed to write another book (after Sticky Karma, released early 2023 by Latah Books), a more amusing one I hope. In other words, I'm giving myself permission to say whatever I want while breaking any rules that get in the way. That seems to be the correct premise for talking about fathers in particular and men in general. I just finished a serious, more motherly, memoir where I attempted, for the first time, to tell the truth. Imagine that. Well, enough is enough. A guy could get hurt telling people the truth.
YOU ARE READING
Who Dad?!
Science FictionAfter a revealing search for his birth mother, Lee declined to pursue the paternal side of the story. Little did he know how the fate of the planet itself was wrapped up in his own star-crossed origin. Only through the unexpected appearance of an al...
