Sunday Summary: Waiting for the Flowers

Welcome to the Sunday Summary for the week of 7 February 2022-12 February 2022.

We’ve reached the middle of February–that time of year when winter’s chill has worn us down but every day we look around, hoping to be surprised by the sudden appearance of the crocus to remind us that spring is within our reach.

Announcements

We have added two new writers and one new writing student. We’re not going to give the names of the writers yet so as not to jinx anything but when you start seeing our Thursday lineup looking a lot more colorful, remember that you heard it here first!

So, while you’re waiting for the flowers to bloom, here’s what the team at 2 Rules of Writing brought you this week:

Tuesday

“Why are there little holes in the pages?”

“Bookworms,” the librarian answers with a shrug implied in her tone of voice. “Bookworms? Worms that eat books? Those are real?” I had always been told I was a bookworm. It seems simple in retrospect. But it had never occurred to me that the term was a metaphor, derived from a real-life phenomenon.

Adam took us on a beautiful and inspiring field trip to the Rare Books Room this week.  His story about doing research in the rare books room at Columbia University’s Butler Library is filled with rich details that allow us to really share the whole sensory experience of enjoying rare books and to remember what it feels like to know you’re an adult, but still look around for an adultier adult.  It’s a lovely tribute to both books and to growing up.  

Wednesday

 How do you live with the constant threat that at any time things might blow up? And unlike in an intimate partner relationship, you can’t do the very hard work to walk away from it?

Defiance, hope and antisemitism are all themes in Erika’s piece this week.  After a recent  Nazi rally in Orlando, Erika explores ideas of generational trauma, safety, and being a survivor.  She touches on the way art and creativity help her cope with those feelings, too.    When you’ve read this piece, consider how you can contribute to making change in the world by giving time, money, or other things you have to share. If you’re not sure where to go, Erika and Adam suggest a few places that matter to them. 

Thursday

“Together we denied the possibility that life could go in any other direction than how we planned. “

The second “delivery” of J.D. Saward’s “An Archaic Concept of Me” graced our pages on Thursday.  Where is the story going to take us next?  The prose is lyrical, the imagery is beautiful.  Catch up with part 2 of the story and be prepared to read part 3 in March. 

Friday

Adam: “Wait… so I’m supposed to read a 14-book series, of which at least 5 of the books are sub-par, and 3 of the books are by a different author?”

Erika:
“…the music is present enough to cover the scratching of the ADHD squirrels without being distracting.”

Our weekly Watch/Listen/Read post this week is eclectic as always.  Adam explores his reading of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. But of course it’s Adam. So his basis for comparison is Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and Milton’s Paradise Lost. If that’s not your cup of tea right now, you can check in with Erika’s explorations into gay pirates, Wayne’s World, John Hughes and more.  She also brings you more poetry this week, including the winners of Button Poetry’s Visual Poetry contest.

Saturday

“When a cat doesn’t want to move it’s like it’s like moving water with a sieve.”

It’s hard not to love a cuddle sometimes… especially when it comes from a cute, furry pal.  But those cute furry felines aren’t always helpful either–as you can see from the photo above, which was snapped as this post was being written.  This week they assert their right to cuddle with a question about distractions.

We hope you’re looking forward to what we’ve got coming up this week. Pretty soon we won’t be waiting for the flowers anymore. But until then,please read, share, comment and join us to share your own work.