Welcome to the Sunday Summary for the week of 16 April 2022. Adam and Erika have some submissions in the inbox to go through. It’s very exciting–with the blossoming of the trees and flowers, we’re also hopeful that the seeds planted with the founding of this website will go on to bear fruit this spring. Things are beginning to brighten up all around. So take a look at history with us as we grapple with both the personal and the national.
Monday
“And yet, in spite of all that, I argue with Adam when he calls me a poet. Which he usually does when, for example, I’ve done things like gotten a little flowery in my language on something he’s editing.”
Erika reminded us about the importance of taking a break this week. Taking a moment to recognize the impact her work was having on her own mental health, Erika shared one of her poems with us along with some thoughts on the experience of writing poetry.
Tuesday
“Knowing what we do about Jefferson the slaveowner, Jefferson the rapist, Jefferson the hypocrite, I think it heightens the tragedy to remember that they were one and the same with Jefferson the scientist and Jefferson the outdoorsman and Jefferson the poet.”
Adam spent time on Tuesday exploring a genre we don’t often talk about–the accidental novel. He uses the rhetoric of Thomas Jefferson to talk about history, language, and character. What happens when the writer communicates things they don’t intend? Do they become a character in their own work? The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are a stunning backdrop for delving into some different ways we might look at writing.
Thursday
“But it took me some time to figure things out myself. What choices to make for my own good, and what consequences to bear when I make bad calls.”
Visit the kitchen again with Erik on Thursday. This time, Erik reconsiders his relationship with one of the foods he remembers not-so-fondly from childhood. Congee, one of the foods Erik associates with childhood illness, becomes the focal point here. How does Erik view this piece of history now, as an adult? Especially since it’s no longer his mother’s congee in front of him?
Friday
Erika: “I’ll do my best to duck all of Adam’s barbs about it and relish the memory of learning to play Vivaldi, not because it was my favorite piece to play but because it felt like a real accomplishment at the level of repertoire.”
Adam: “I think that there is something about listening to writers talk about their books that reminds me that writers are people. That they sit down and write. And that’s it. Yes I know that I co-founded a website called 2 Rules of Writing and that the 2 rules in question are meant to defeat writer’s block. So shouldn’t I be past this sort of thing? Not suffering from writer’s block?”
Friday’s Watch/Listen/Read post brings you a selection of international films from Erika, who is still stuck in a 90’s music rut, too, along with classical music recommendations from both Adam and Erika. More important, perhaps than anything else in this week’s Watch/Listen/Read recommendations though, is this podcast episode from the TryGuys about the impact that COVID has had on the disabled community and the impact it will continue to have as people become infected with COVID and some go on to develop long COVID.
Saturday
“Time was, a writer could just write their works, right? And they were judged on their merits, right? Simpler times, right?”
The cats are very into their social media presence. After all, cats rule the internet. But what about writers and social media? Tell the us all about how you use it, which platforms, and why. Writers of history may look back on this moment as the birth of social media on the internet. Or writers of history will be too busy trying to find enough tallow to allow them to write after dark. We’ll see.
Looking ahead
As April comes to a close, we’ll wind down our 30 Days, 30 Poems project this week while continuing our mix of reader submissions and selections from Adam and Erika. We’ll spend some time with the kids in Josi Lacrete’s classroom, as we do every month. And we’ll honor Sexual Assault Awareness Month, too.
Keep sending in your submissions. Keep reading and sharing. Don’t forget to follow us either by email or by clicking the “follow” button on our blog. And join in the conversation by leaving your ideas in the comments, too.
Make sure you‘re all caught up with your favorite 2 Rules writers and features by checking out all of our Sunday Summary posts.