Because I have decided to go into Vineyard Haven with Frank at 6:00 a.m., I must take Charlie and Suzi for a short, early - too early - walk to the beach and back at 5:00 a.m. Bleary eyed, and before coffee, I trudge down the dirt road with my walking sticks, taking a shortcut. The dogs don't suspect anything too out of the ordinary, though. It's humid and I am dressed in a sleeveless top and shorts; the bugs chew at my face, my neck, my mouth. This is so rare – an unappealing walk. I am too tired and bug bitten to enjoy anything about it. Fortunately, the dogs dip quickly in the surf, I walk them over the rocks to Roaring Brook, they drink the fresh water, and we quickly return home. So, tonight, I am very much anticipating the delight of waking to a long, lingering hike at a more reasonable hour, with fewer bugs.

The day brightened considerably as it progressed. I am working with a delightful writer, consulting with her privately on some creative prose. She is a great fan of Clarissa Pinkola Estes and has been to many of her workshops, and this piece she's working on is a true story that she is transforming into myth, and so our work is on how to elevate the story that happened into a mythical voice. This writer has a mission that is very dear to her: to help a young woman reframe a troubled experience into a powerful, positive story. The process of working with her on this is deeply, creatively satisfying as it enlists the fairy tale qualities that invite imaginative thinking - anything is possible.

Two poems I've had circulating for some months, ones from my new chapbook, were accepted by a journal I admire and am honored to be published in: Tiferet will publish "Sumac," and "Psalm for a Body Politic," in the spring/summer issue, 2019.

I met with a consultant I'm considering working with on my book project. It was a powerful meeting about a commitment I must decide to make, or not, and soon. What do you want, Kelly, I ask myself. Do you want to say yes to this challenge? What I want, if I say yes, if I say, no, is to do so wholeheartedly, with conviction and with clarity and with enthusiasm and excitement and a deep sense of knowing what is true for what I need to do. 

Thursday is also the creative writing workshop I'm leading at Featherstone, and what a lovely, lovely workshop it was. Everyone came having worked on a poem or prose from the raw material generated in last week's workshop, and the writing was good and nourishing, and our sharing went deep. On this sunny, summer afternoon on this exquisite island, we met indoors, air conditioned, and sat around a conference table, and said: this time to write and share matters deeply. We are making time for our creative writing. This is exactly the right place to be: How honored I feel to show up for writers to express their truth and beauty. Because it does matter, so much. We all went home hopeful and juiced up and satisfied and challenged. Hooray!

All photos and text ©Kelly DuMar