In all my fantastical flights of imagination about what it would be like to be A Writer, creating or editing an anthology never showed up. I’ve submitted—and been accepted—to a few, but producing my own never occurred to me until almost a year ago. Since then I’ve been tiptoeing around it, looking up how-tos online, re-reading the anthologies I have and speaking to another author who has edited two of them. It felt like an important project, but I had absolutely no idea how to begin it. So, naturally, without any information, planning or connections, I’m going to just do it—isn’t that what the slogan says?
It's called Everyday Grief and the idea for it came from my feeling of being under an avalanche of loss—of all kinds—and not really knowing how to deal with it. The different kinds of loss started to reveal themselves as separate but equal experiences that require energy and attention and not just all lumped together as “I’m sad.” The loss of my parents, my sister, our income during the pandemic, my life during the years of caregiving and the diagnosis of Annie’s cancer and the anticipatory grief that goes along with that—all those different types of loss demanded my attention. I was exhausted. But I also realized that I was experiencing the kind of grief that doesn’t go away—it is integrated into who I am and will impact my life from now on.
I will live it every day.
So, I’m posting a Call For Submissions to begin collecting other voices of grief—the traditional, the specific, the great, the ongoing. If you’re moved to share your own experience, please consider submitting. The details of publication, etc. will be evolving, but for now we’re looking for the voices that we’ll share. My friend and writer Trudy Swenson has agreed to co-edit this project with me, for which I’m truly grateful! (And she’s super organized and will keep me accountable!) Here are more details:
More to come…until then:
For those of you who want to publish your own work—
Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, is holding a class in February called, “What It Takes To Get Published” part of the Five Things I’ve Learned series. If you’re mulling it over, I recommend taking this class. I’ve taken classes from Brooke before—they’re chock-full of information insights and experience. Here’s the link:
What It Takes To Get Published
My upcoming classes—
I have some classes starting, too! Both on Zoom, a new Saturday morning writing group and a 3-session workshop called My COVID Memoir which will explore the unique and lasting experiences from the pandemic and lockdown. Here’s the link with more info and registration button. You can also email me with any questions.
Writual Classes
The writing group starts soon—February 11th--but no time like the present, right? :)
In Case You Missed It (ICYMI):
Annie and I have been writing about the journey that cancer is taking us on. Here are links to the our first two articles…more on the way.
Dec. 17 - Can We Talk About Cancer? - https://www.ctinsider.com/opinion/article/Opinion-My-daughter-has-cancer-And-we-want-to-17659433.php
Jan. 7 - Are We Making Resolutions? - https://www.ctinsider.com/opinion/article/Opinion-Can-we-talk-about-cancer-If-I-want-to-17697860.php
That’s it for now, except for your dose of support:
Just saw this. Are you still accepting submissions?
Everyday Grief - I love your idea!