New Knitalong Alert!


Fancy another Knitalong? We had so much fun knitting along with Helen Stewart’s Shawl Society last year, many of us are clamoring for more! We are ready to begin Shawl Society II.

Six shawls over the next six months. You up for it?!

The Details:

  • Six Gatherings over six months, one for each shawl release. Gatherings will take place from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Friday mornings at various locations in the Ogden area, including coffee shops, parks, and NPJ. The dates are: May 5, June 9, July 7, August 11, September 8, October 6.
  • The cost for the entire Knitalong will be $70, which will include knitting support and instruction from me, a chance to win prizes, yummy treats, and comraderie with other friendly knitters.
  • You need to sign up through Needlepoint Joint to participate. You can sign up by stopping by the shop or calling (801)394-4355. Sign ups will be first come, first served, with a maximum of 15 members.
  • In order to purchase the patterns for Shawl Society II, you will need to buy them off Ravelry. Once you are on the Shawl Society II page, click on the ‘1 pattern’ link in the box on the right hand side of the page. It will cost approximately $15 to purchase all six patterns, which will be released one at a time over the next six months, beginning with the first shawl on May 4th.
  • If you are interested in knitting the shawls, but are unable to attend the gatherings, please consider joining us on Ravelry for a virtual knitalong! I have maintained our group on Ravelry for anyone who wants to join us as we knit these shawls. This group is open to everyone whether you have signed up for the physical knitalong gatherings or not. Last year we were joined by knitters all over the world. The more the merrier!

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Requiem to the Red Rock

To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.
–Terry Tempest Williams

At least once a year, my family treks down to Southern Utah. We reason that we’re going down in order to hike, take pictures, go to one of our favorite bookstores, and lay like lizards on the warm rocks. These are all valid reasons for making the four hour journey south, but our real reason lies beyond words, beyond justification.

Southern Utah is a special place that transcends simple description. Its very existence defies reason; its unique landscape and visual proof of the passing and power of time serve as a reminder of just how small I am. Being among that which has survived thousands of years grounds me; witnessing the results of what the constant force of water and wind can do humbles me; appreciating the life that finds a way to grow out of dry, hard rock inspires me.

This land, this place, deserves our respect and protection. Although I will not assume I know the best way to preserve this land while respecting the rights of those who live there, I do trust those who have chosen to advocate for this land.

The Southen Utah Wilderness Alliance is such an organization. Since 1983, SUWA has been “the only independent organization working full-time to defend America’s redrock wilderness from oil and gas development, unnecessary road construction, rampant off-road vehicle use, and other threats to Utah’s wilderness-quality lands.” The mission of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is “the preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, and the management of these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans.”

I am offering up this shawl in support of Southern Utah’s wild red rock land that needs our protection. This shawl, like the land it represents, is more than the sum of its parts. In many ways, this is the simplest of the six shawls I have auctioned, although its simplicity lends to its undeniable beauty. It is knit out of dk-weight Bluefaced Leicester wool that has been organically dyed gradiently, so each color beautifully transitions into the next. This shawl is a classic long triangle with simple eyelets and an i-cord border. It is earthy, unique, and lovely.

Requiem 
by David Lee

More than a high-desert sun dog shimmering
above thin lines of the Canyonland’s open throat
or the sift of October-flushed aspen
on a gnarled Pine Valley, Utah, morning.
More than the pink fleece of a lost primrose
bathed in twilight by a graveled roadside
or the shadow of a cornstalk petroglyph
leaning into its basalt winter.
Beyond words sliding from hollows of memory
that hold image and time in stone cups
is the yearning, the bending to morning,
the huddled ache that can never be soothed
by moonlight or spring rains or crimson oak,
only by tomorrow’s sunrise.


Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

  • The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
  • Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
  • All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
  • I will close the auction at 5:00 PM MDT on Saturday, April 15.
  • When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance within 48 hours and then forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by April 24th.
  • If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.
  • Once again, 100% of the proceeds of the winning bid will go towards the cause, this time to SUWA.

Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!

Lucky

Lucky

by Kirsten Dierking

All this time,
the life you were
supposed to live
has been rising around you
like the walls of a house
designed with warm
harmonious lines.
As if you had actually
planned it that way.
As if you had
stacked up bricks
at random,
and built by mistake
a lucky star.

A few weeks ago, my husband sent me this poem. It was touching to receive, not only because it is a lovely poem, but because with it he wrote how much it reminded him of me.

To many, I think my life looks like a series of starts and stops, a bunch of random decisions and fickle choices. It means the world to me that to my husband, my life makes sense. It is affirming that he not only sees the choices I make as valid, but intentional.

Ironically, it doesn’t always feel that way to me. I am surrounded by people who began their careers over twenty years ago, starting with an intense focus in one discipline that then progressed and evolved into full, tenured professorships. I’m sure within the confines of each of their minds, their professional lives feel less direct. But, from the outside, from my point of view as I chit-chat with them at parties, them asking me, “So, what do you do?”, their lives look like they’ve always had everything all figured out.

Little by little, though, brick by brick, I am beginning to see how every choice I’ve made in my life has been building towards something that actually may make some sense. The trick now is to continue building, to not shy away from where my heart is leading me. It is exciting and scary, exhilirating and inspiring.

Towards that end, I have reduced the number of hours I am working at NPJ to two days a week in order to intentionally carve out time for what truly makes my heart sing: teaching knitting, both private and semi-private lessons and group classes; creating knitting classes and KALs; developing my own skills both in knitting and photography; scheduling photoshoots again; writing both on this blog and personally; experimenting with design work and tech editing; continuing to develop my Knit Hero business.

Amazingly, I am finding that perhaps I, too, began my career over twenty years ago. Every day, I have been working hard, building a life, developing skills and persuing talents–and that has gotten me to this place, right now.

And so, as I begin to glimpse the beauty of what is around me, I will continue to develop, grow, and work, always following my heart and dreaming big. Although I’m not sure exactly where I’m going, I am excited to see what tomorrow will bring.

Whoever You Are

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.


I believe every person deserves a place in this world. Every person, regardless of religion, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, has a right to be happy, free, equal, and safe. I do not assume to know all that there is to know about these issues, and I know I carry certain biases that I may or may not be aware of having, but I do know that at the kernel–at the very core–I feel love.

With this shawl, I am shouting out my love to those whose very identity is questioned, devalued, underrepresented, and judged. This wonderfully bold, amazingly bright shawl is my proclamation that I SEE YOU!

To those of you in the LGBTQ community, I have your back. I will fight for you. I will write and march and call–and I will offer up this shawl in support of the most vulnerable in our community.

You are not alone.

This week, I am auctioning my Exploration Station Shawl by Stephen West in support of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.

There is so much hate and misunderstanding being directed towards the LGBTQ community from the current administration, it is my hope that this week, we counter all that hate with a lot of love.

Please join your voice to mine as we shout out our support to youths in the LGBTQ community by adding your bid, knowing that 100% of the proceeds of this shawl will go to help provide a voice on the other end of the line when someone in crisis reaches out.

This shawl is knit out of four colors of Madelinetosh Merino Light, a luscious handdyed in the US 100% merino yarn. It is very large and yet extremely lightweight. It is squishy and soft, vibrant and striking.

It is a gorgeous shawl!


Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

  • The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
  • Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
  • All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
  • I will close the auction at 7:00 PM MST on Monday, March 27th.
  • When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to The Trevor Project within 48 hours and then forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by April 3rd.
  • If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.
  • Once again, 100% of the proceeds of the winning bid will go towards the cause, this time to The Trevor Project.

Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!

The Utmost Care And Kindness


Eagle Poem

BY JOY HARJO

To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.

 

It is with great anticipation that I launch this particular Shawl Auction. This week, I am auctioning one of my most intricate, delicate lace shawls to benefit the National Resources Defense Council, which helps protect our very delicate Earth. The NRDC “works to safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.” I feel particularly invested in this cause, because if we do not have a sustainable Earth on which to live, it is undeniable that none of the other issues really matter.

 

 

In order to have life, we need pure water, clean air, and protected land. We need to ensure we protect our climate in order to sustain all lives who call Earth home. Protecting our land, water, climate, and air should not be a partisan issue. How is caring for our home a political act? We all live here, love here, die here. Our Earth is vulnerable and we need to do everything we can to ensure its survival.

 

 

The only shawl I have knit worthy of such an important cause is my Fragaria Shawl, designed by Alina Appasova. It is truly delicate, light as a feather, with intricately beautiful stitchwork. I knit it out of Jaggerspun Zephyr, a laceweight 50% Merino/50% Silk in the gorgeous Jade colorway. It is one of the smaller shawls I am auctioning, but it is plenty big to wear in a variety of ways or would look stunning accenting a special room. Because it is so lightweight, it is easy to bring along with you in a purse or bag to throw on when you feel chilled or just want to look and feel fabulous.

 

I can honestly say I love this shawl.

 

 

But I love our Earth more.

 

I am hoping this shawl will go to someone who cares equally for this Earth feels drawn to make a donation to help ensure its protection. In return, I will gratefully pass this shawl along to you.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

  • The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
  • Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
  • All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
  • I will close the auction at 7:00 PM MST on Monday, March 6th.
  • When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to the NRDC within 48 hours and then forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by March 13th.
  • If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.
  • Once again, 100% of the proceeds of the winning bid will go towards the cause, this time the National Resources Defense Council.
  • In addition, all donations to the NRDC will be matched for a limited time, so the winning bid for this shawl will have twice the impact!

Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!

At Its Essence

Knitting may not, on the surface, seem relevant to engines that run the world, but at its essence, it is actually quite vital. For knitting, which can express so many emotions, most often expresses love. And when all else is lost, love is what most often stays with us.

                                                                                              –Melanie Falick

To console someone who has experienced loss, to celebrate a new life, to nurture someone who is ill, I most often turn to knitting. Usually it is when life is at its most intimate and vulnerable that words fail to express how much I care. And so, it is in the act of selecting the project, picking the perfect pattern and yarn, and sitting down to create something for someone that knitting becomes the only thing I can think of to do.

Every single stitch becomes infused with the love I feel for that person. Thousands upon thousands of stitches culminate into one entity. All my disjointed thoughts, worries, intentions, wishes, and love come together into this one thing. In the case of a shawl, this one thing becomes the literal embodiment of a hug.

Reading the news and following the horror that is real for millions of refugees and immigrants around the world, I ache for a way to help. There are millions of people in crisis right now, and I am just one human. What can I do? Fortunately, there are people and organizations in place to provide appropriate, immediate help.

It is my goal with this next auction to offer one shawl to help raise money to benefit the International Rescue Committee, who “helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and regain control of their future.” It is my hope that my small offering will contribute to a greater good, that it will provide tangible assistance to those in crisis.

The current shawl up for bid is the Color Affection shawl by Veera Valimaki. It is knit out of three colors of a spongy-soft merino wool/nylon blend yarn that is hand-dyed by a local Utah artisan, The March Hare. It is bright, squishy, has a lovely drape, and is easy to wear.


Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

  • The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
  • Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
  • All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
  • I will close the auction at 8:00 PM MST on Wednesday, February 15th.
  • When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to the IRC within 48 hours and then forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by February 27th.
  • If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.
  • Once again, 100% of the proceeds of the winning bid will go towards the cause, this time the IRC (please click on link to watch video).

Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!


My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.                 

–Desmond Tutu

The Deepest Thing Inside

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

–from Kindness, by Naomi Shihab Nye

This week, I have been overwhelmed as I’ve watched and experienced our democracy in action. I have never been a particularly political person and, except for the year I lived overseas, I have never really appreciated or acknowledged what being an American means to me. Very quickly and very clearly, though, I am now recognizing what is at stake.

Instead of hiding behind fear and confusion, I am learning to lean in: I am asking questions when I don’t understand; I am engaging in honest, open dialogue with everyone, even those who disagree; I am marching for what I believe in; I am trying to avoid hyperbole; and always, I side with what is kind and just. I respect others who do the same.

With this focus in mind, I am ready to launch my second shawl auction. For this auction, all proceeds of the winning bid will go to the ACLU. I am also committing to matching the winning bid with my own donation to the ACLU up to $200 (but, of course, I’m open to bidding going higher…). 🙂

This shawl really is one of my very favorite shawls I’ve ever knit. It is the Amulet Shawl, by Helen Stewart. It is knit out of Madelinetosh Merino Light, a 100% merino wool, and I used gold glass beads. It is easy to wear, just the right size, and has lovely drape and just the right amount of lace. It would look equally lovely draped around your shoulders or accenting a favorite armchair.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

  • The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
  • Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
  • All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
  • I will close the auction at 6:00 PM MST on Friday, February 3rd.
  • When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to the ACLU within 48 hours and then forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by February 14th.
  • If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.

Here’s hoping this idea takes flight… Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!


The lovely Maria, in her new Jujuy Shawl:

Our Call to Share

“We are called upon to use our gift, our gift we have to share with the world.”   –Terry Tempest Williams

Here I am, ready to begin this year with renewed focus, an open willingness to take risks, and great optimism about the impact many small actions can have.  As a knitter, I am well-versed in what a million different tiny stitches, created one at a time, can create. I have many sweaters, hats, socks, and shawls to show for it in fact.

As a result, I have found myself in a position of abundance. Quite honestly, I have more shawls than I could ever hope to wear. Creating these gorgeous wings of wool, I’m finding myself feeling weighted down by the sheer number of them. I’m ready to let some of them take flight and find new shoulders to warm, new bodies to embellish.

It is not enough for me to give them away, though, or even just to sell them. As I knit, I feel a deep sense of purpose, clarity, and peace. To sell them for profit negates the beauty of the shawl for me. Instead, I want my knitted shawls to continue creating that peace in this world, carrying with them all that I felt while knitting them to the recipient and even to the broader world.

My idea is this: I will auction off one shawl at a time, committing to auctioning six shawls over the next three months, and all the money will go towards a charity or cause of my choice. Once the winner has been notified and donates the winning bid to that charity, I will pass the shawl along into the hands of the kind winner. If the winner lives away, I will cover the cost of shipping the shawl via Priority Mail.

Every shawl I auction will be knit out of the very best yarn, will be free of errors, and filled with good karma.

The first shawl is the Jujuy Shawl. This shawl is knit out of Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere, a gorgeous blend of merino wool, cashmere, and nylon. I knit this shawl along with an amazing group of women in coordination with my first ever Knitalong. Because this shawl embodies the strength, comraderie, and kindness of women, all proceeds of this shawl’s winning bid will go towards Planned Parenthood.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, because the higher the bidding goes, the more impact this one beautiful shawl can have.

  • The opening bid starts at $50 and begins NOW.
  • Please bid in whole dollar amounts.
  • All bids need to be within the comment thread of this blog post in order for everyone to keep track of the highest bid.
  • I will close the auction at 7:00 PM MST on Monday, January 23rd.
  • When the auction is over, I will send the winner an email; the winner must donate directly to Planned Parenthood within 24 hours and must forward the confirmation email to me as proof; I’ll coordinate getting the shawl to you by February 1st.

Here’s hoping this idea takes flight… Much love to all of you…and happy bidding!

2016 Projects in Review

At the end of each year, usually just a few weeks before Christmas, I compile all the photos my family took throughout the year and create a “Best of” Photo Book that we give to our parents and keep one for ourselves. Every year, we seem to have more and more photos, especially since all four of us actively take pictures now on all our phones and our “real” cameras. It’s always a huge undertaking at a very busy time of year, and every year I complain and stress and lament about why I don’t work on it earlier and throughout the year.

And yet, every year, once I’m actually working on our book, I find such joy in reliving our year through the pictures. Trips I had almost forgotten even taking come back to me in full technicolor detail, I revisit people we got to see, and am reminded of beautiful moments which become even more beautiful upon the recollection.

It is only upon actually hunkering down and doing the work that I realize how important it is to take the time to reflect on our lives. I have written before about how busy my family is and how frenetic our lives can be, but upon reflection, I can appreciate all the beauty that was there. It has become an almost sacred act for me to create this book, keep it on our coffee table for a while, and then place it on its shelf next to the ones that came before.

As a knitter, I’ve found it equally fulfilling to look back on my year’s projects and appreciate all that I have created throughout the year. This doesn’t involve anything nearly as laborious as creating a book, but is usually as simple as me going to my Ravelry project page and adding tics to a post-it which I then wander around my house with exclaiming in shock to anyone who will listen to me over how much more I knit than I even thought.

 

Since I have a blog this year, I thought I’d use this space to more publicly exclaim in shock and catalog my finished projects (because I really can’t believe I knit so many things!).

Here’s hoping you care a little more than my fourteen-year-old–and that you don’t think I’m too nutty after I let you look inside my crazy…

Projects Finished in 2016

In total, I knit thirty-three things, I frogged one sweater (of dye-lot-issue-fail-fame) and I have six things that I started this year (or earlier) that I have yet to finish.

Knowing all I have knit this year, I really am shocked (and a little embarrassed). Any sane person would recognize I probably have enough knitwear, right?

And yet, I admit that I can’t wait to cast the next thing on…

With that, I wish everyone a Happy New Year filled with warm wool, successful projects, and lots of opportunities to learn new skills. We all have lots left to learn, don’t we? And that is the very best news of all!

Recomposed

img_0617

Last night I had to pleasure of hearing Terry Tempest Williams speak and read from her recent novel, The Hour of the Land. Without my even quite knowing it, Terry Tempest Williams has been my guide throughout my adult life in Utah. Her words show me the importance of place and its connection to identity. She inspires me to actively appreciate, engage, and defend the land where I live and love.

The first book I read after moving to Utah was Williams’ Refuge, a book firmly  rooted in family and place. Although this state was new to me, it was her home and she introduced me to it. I got to know her and her husband, Brooke, as I served them bagels in Sugarhouse, watching the sun rise over the majestic Wasatch Mountains every morning. It was then that I began to appreciate the rhythms of light, the stability of the mountains, and their relationship with one another. It was a love affair quickly begun and yet has remained steadfast and true.

For the next twenty-two years, I have returned to her books, falling in love over and over again with her voice, her wisdom, and her passion for place. She continues to remind me what matters.

And so, it was without hesitation that I bought tickets for Adam and I to hear her speak on the night of December 12th. I knew she would be good. I knew I would love hearing her read and I was excited to get a copy of her newest book.

What I didn’t expect was how perfect her words would be for me to hear right now. She voiced my fears; she captured the beauty of what is worth protecting; she created a community within the space of sixty people where even if we may not all agree politically, we all care deeply about our land and protecting what  is at risk. For the first time since the election, I felt completely safe within a community of people. I hadn’t realized I was missing that so much, and it literally brought me to my knees, tears flowing down my cheeks.

You see, this month has been a difficult one. Although I have no desire to make this blog a political space, I will admit that not wanting to address our current political climate here has rendered me speechless over the past month, because I am at a loss. I am honestly struggling with comprehending our world and am trying to make sense of how to function within it. Our world no longer makes sense. Everything I hold truly dear is under attack. Each day brings even more bad news. Each appointment, each headline is like a kick to the gut. I am simultaneously infuriated, terrified, incredulous, and depressed. I find myself caught between wanting to be–needing to be–informed, and yet for sanity’s sake sometimes opting to ignore it all for a while. I have, so far, deleted the Facebook app off my phone four times since the election. I never stay away too long, but just the act of deleting it helps me regain my balance and a needed sense of peace.

Last night, within the space Terry Tempest Williams created, I felt allowed to grieve and experience my fears within a community of people. What felt profound was the silence within the group. It was not a discussion. I didn’t need to defend or assert my thoughts or hear anyone else’s. We were all just there together.

Listening.

Contemplating the land and this place we call home.

Being called upon to use our gift, our gift we have to share with the world.

To be awake.

To be ready.

And, most importantly, to remember that “from love we lose nothing.”

So, it is with this spirit, thinking of this purpose and these words, that I will pick myself up, dust myself off, and move forward. I will remember what matters. I will be kind to myself and to others. I will listen and I will speak.

Within this new world reality, I will hold what I care for and about close.


Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, Spring 1


Terry Tempest Williams – November 9 2016

It is morning. I am mourning.
And the river is before me.
I am a writer without words who is struggling to find them.
I am holding the balm of beauty, this river, this desert, so vulnerable, all of us.
I am trying to shape my despair into some form of action, but for now, I am standing on the cold edge of grief.
We are staring at a belligerent rejection of change by our fellow Americans who believe they have voted for change.
The seismic shock of a new political landscape is settling.
For now, I do not feel like unity is what is called for.
Resistance is our courage.
Love will become us.
The land holds us still.
Let us pause and listen and gather our strength with grace and move forward like water in all its manifestation: flat water, white water, rapids and eddies, and flood this country with an integrity of purpose and patience and persistence capable of cracking stone.
I am a writer without words who continues to believe in the vitality of the struggle.
Let us hold each other close
and be kind.
Let us gather together and break bread.
Let us trust that what is required of us next will become clear in time.
What has been hidden is now exposed.
This river, this mourning, this moment — May we be brave enough to feel it deeply.