When I was too little to know any better, my mother tells of her complete mortification when I would make loud slurping sounds as the tray of communion cups was passed in our little church. The sight of all those little me-sized cups of grape juice going by just out of reach was all I needed to notice how thirsty I was. Since I didn't have the words, I found another way to let it be known that I wanted something to drink.
So it was, just about a month ago now, when
Laura Boggess wrote about a new book she loved and was offering as a giveaway. As I followed her instructions to be entered, I found myself uncharacteristically REALLY hoping I would win. I never win these things, and don't often enter or think too much about them. There was something about the sight of that elegant cover, and the chance to see behind the scenes of L. L. Barkat's creativity that was like the tiny cups of juice that tempted that long-ago thirsty baby. I don't think I actually slurped, but I did really want to win . . . and I did!!
From the Yeats poem inside the front cover, and the personal inscription to me from L. L. herself, this beautiful book had me under its spell and has kept me there well beyond the final word.
Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing by L. L. Barkat is the newest addition to my very short list of favorite books on writing.
"There are so many things standing in my way this morning, I can hardly begin. Yet I've heard there are rumors of water. Maybe that is enough."
(L. L. Barkat, Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing)
The writing life, or the artistic life, at which I feel such an amateur, is often lonely, and hard, and for some inexplicable reason I find myself almost going out of my way NOT to do the thing I long to do, the thing that is akin to breath for my soul. Not only is there some formless, malevolent tendency, within me or without, (I'm never sure), that fights my desire to write and create, but the obstacles out in the wide world to achieving the dreams I'm almost afraid to acknowledge seem so daunting and the competition so formidable.
L. L. knows all this from the inside out. She understands. She doesn't gloss over or sugar coat. She wrestles with the same questions I wrestle with. Her words, her prose that sings like poetry, share her experience, her insight, her words of caution, and her words of encouragement in ways that are pure nectar to a thirsty artist. I had wanted something to drink, and she gave it to me.
Laura told me there were
Rumors of Water
and I had just enough faith to enter to win the chance to find out. L. L. writes and reassures me not only is there water, but Jesus still turns water into wine.
"Our thoughts, like fireflies, tease and beckon. We tease and beckon too, enamored with the possibility of touching the magical transience of words and sharing them with the world."
(L. L. Barkat, Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing)
Possibility, hope, faith . . . words that are more than words . . . they are God-words that carry such thirst-quenching encouragement for the creative soul. And I am filled with gratitude at the taste of them and for the lovely ladies God used to bring them to me.
"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul . . ."
Out of my gratitude for the giveaway I was blessed with, and as a way to pass a blessing forward, I am doing my first ever giveaway! Just leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Friday, November 18, 2011 for your chance to win your choice of 10 Friday Dreaming greeting cards! You may choose 10 of the same card design, or an assortment of any combination of designs to make up your 10 cards. I hope you will find these cards the kind of blessing that you can pass forward!
The giveaway has now ended--winner was Dea Moore!!
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