Welcome back to The Life of H: Sarah, Reimagined where poetry is my doorway into an exploration of one of the most impactful and enigmatic stories, not just of biblical literature but of literature in general. The matriarch Sarah’s story has influenced our understanding of gender, motherhood, law, spirituality — and more. It’s a book-in-process (emphasis on the word process).
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In this week’s poem, I talk about one of those things you’re not supposed to bring up at the dinner table. And then I keep talking about it.
Listen to the poem, “My Religion” by Tzivia Gover
Copyright Tzivia Gover and Third House Moon, LLC. All rights reserved.
Writing to sell — and for the soul
Recently I was invited to talk about the Dreaming on the Page book and approach to writing on the Clubhouse podcast Writing to Sell with Hy Bender. (Scroll all the way down to hear the interview.)
As the name of the podcast implies, I was hoping to sell a few books while I was at it.
After all, as a professonal writer I need to attend to bottom lines, sales rankings, and book reviews as well as revenue.
But our conversation quickly moved into talk of the spiritual nature of writing. How could it not? My book is all about the power of dreams to deepen our writing so we can be more authentic on the page — and off.
Toward the end of the podcast, the host acknowledged that we need more of that focus in the writing community. He observed what I, too have noticed: that instead, social media influencers who cater to writers tend to talk more about boosting sales, finding marketable subjects, and using newsletters and posts to collect followers and convert them into customers.
Talking about the commercial aspects of our work is fair game. But talk of spirituality (let alone religion) is frowned upon in most of the spaces where writers gather.
In my experience publishing self-help/inspirational books, I’ve been asked by editors and publishers to “tone down” any mention of God — because it’s bad for sales. I’ve even been criticized by some readers and reviewers because I quote from religious texts (along with a lot more secular poetry and prose) in my books.
But here’s the thing. Writing is a spiritual act. The first known author was a Sumerian Priestess of the moon god Nanna, who channeled her poetry.
Poetry’s roots are spiritual, and the oldest passages in the Bible (not to mention other sacred texts) are poems.
And to this day writers do lots of things we’d consider woo-woo in other contexts. In Dreaming on the Page, I write:
Join the conversation
When I started writing these Sarah poems for The Life of H, I was sheepish at first. Would I alienate readers and friends with all my talk of biblical characters and Mesopotamian history?
Starting this newsletter was a big step in coming out about the centrality of spirituality in my life as a poet and as a person.
So let’s talk about it.
Let’s talk about the process of creation. Let’s talk about writing as a spiritual act. As channeling.
Let’s talk about our intentions when we write, the ethical underpinnings of our craft, of having a platform, and of holding the power of the pen in our hands.
Let’s share our writing rituals, how we fill the well of creativity, and how creativity connects us to what is best and most beautiful in the world — as well as what’s most enigmatic, unfair, sorrowful, soulful, infuriating, mysterious, and confusing.
Let’s talk about intentions. Dedication. Devotion.
Listen to the podcast
Click below to listen to the episode of Writing to Sell with Hy Bender in which I talk about the spiritual side of writing. First, here are some time markers so you can optimize your time:
The conversation gets started about 3 minutes in.
We start diving into talk of the spiritual side of writing at about 1 hour in.
Content warning: A foul-mouthed troll pops in briefly at about 11 minutes, but he is quickly silenced.
JUST PRESS PLAY. You don’t need to join Clubhouse or open Clubhouse in the app.
Subscribe to The Life of H: Sarah, Reimagined today you’ll get 20% off and a free copy of my latest book, Dreaming on the Page: Tap into Your Midnight Mind to Supercharge Your Writing.
I often give options for the "G-word" when I talk or write for the same reasons. Often I say something like "the Force, or Spirit, or the Divine, or God, or Goddess, or whatever works for you to access the feeling of awe."