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Dialogue with my muse |
| I have been carrying on a dialogue for almost a year. During this time we have discussed the progress of my writing, editing, and publishing efforts. Join in to listen to our conversation about my daily writing life and add your comments if you think of anything Calliope and I miss. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: I feel like a juggler. CALLIOPE: What are you juggling? JOE: Several projects. CALLIOPE: Anything we haven't discussed yet? JOE: I have agreed to write a piece for a new book, Finding God in America. CALLIOPE: How's it coming? JOE: I'm doing better with it than I thought I would. It's quite a topic. CALLIOPE: I agree. How are you approaching it? JOE: I started with how I see God these days and where. CALLIOPE: Which is? JOE:In nature. I have concluded that most religions become stultified and moralistic with age. Keeping in touch with God through official channels becomes more of an obligation than a joy. CALLIOPE: So how do you find God? JOE: That's what my piece is about. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. See you then. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you yesterday. JOE: Sorry about that. I had some web difficulty I was unable to resolved before I left for the day's activities. CALLIOPE: I see. Glad to have you back. What's new? JOE: Beth Cahaney's review of my book Navigating Life just arrived. CALLIOPE: I would like to see it. JOE: I thought you might. Here goes: A review of Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections For the Voyage by Joseph G. Langen Psychologist and author Joseph Langen discusses life and relationships in his latest book, Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections For the Voyage. People and places in western New York figure prominently in the book, and as a native of the area, I am amazed at his insight as he examines lives well lived, including his own. Langen reflects on his years of practice, his life in a monastery, and his own spiritual journey in his attempt to help us navigate our lives. The book is a deceptively easy read, many of the essays having appeared in his weekly newspaper column. They are arranged in chapters with titles such as “Appreciating Life around Us” and “Making Sense of Society.” Within the chapters are essays, each followed by Langen’s Life Lab Lessons. While Langen captivates us with each well written essay, his Life Lab Lessons force us to confront our own lives in reaction to the essay. It’s no easy task as Langen directs us, for example, at the end of “The Power of Will” to list our most important values and then to list the most important values of a person with whom we are in conflict. Listing my most important values—what a good idea, yet one I hadn’t attempted since my sophomore year in high school when my all-time favorite teacher encouraged me to do that very thing as I tried to understand a difficult novel. Perhaps I should have listed my values more than once every fifty years, but I thank Langen for exhorting me to do so. Langen uses an excellent format for each of his essays. He begins with a quote from an intellectual or spiritual leader or perhaps an anonymous source or even a sports or media personality, then his own well chosen words, often with reference to noted scholars, then wrap up with the Life Lab Lessons. Imagine my joy to find some of my favorite writers imbedded in Langen’s essays: John Eudes Bamberger, Karen Armstrong, Teilhard de Chardin. But perhaps my greatest joy is to read about everyday folks in Langen’s work, folks such as Carol Gomborone and her aunt, Lucille Rider, and to see Joe Langen’s love come shining through. That is the true measure of a life well lived and one from which we can learn to appreciate our own lives. Elizabeth Cahaney, Professor of Humanities Elizabethtown Community and Technical College CALLIOPE: Great review. Thanks for sharing it. JOE: Glad you liked it. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Well, thank you. CALLIOPE: What did you do yesterday? JOE: I had lunch with Carol and her son on top of the mountain in Oramel and dinner with my mother in Rochester. CALLIOPE: Sounds like quite a bit of traveling. JOE: It was. In addition to a thorough celebration of Mother's Day, I got to do some photography in the woods. CALLIOPE: What about your writing? JOE: I did talk about it with two of my nieces yesterday. I am still wrestling with my options for our book of dialogues. CALLIOPE: Are you any further on toward a decision? JOE: Not really? I still see the pros and cons of the various possibilities. I'm not sure yet what would be best. CALLIOPE: How do you plan to approach the problem? JOE: I am waiting for inspiration if you have any. I also plan to discuss it with a few people who know about my writing. I'm sure I come up with a plan eventually. CALLIOPE: I'll ponder it and let you know if I come up with anything. JOE: Thanks, talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good afternoon Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Where have you been? JOE: Gone fishin'. CALLIOPE: Likely story. JOE: It happens to be true. My grandson Joey just turned seven. I bought him some fishing tackle for his birthday and took him fishing for the first time today. CALLIOPE: How was it? JOE: We both enjoyed the adventure. So did the fish. They were somewhere else besides under the bridge where we fished. CALLIOPE: I thought you would be hard at work on our book. JOE: Patience. I spent most of yesterday working on it. I checked the size of the book with reduced size pictures and realized it was still way too big. CALLIOPE: So now what? JOE: I have to decide whether to eliminate all the pictures and proceed or publish it myself with pictures. CALLIOPE: What are the pros and cons? JOE: If I do it myself, I can include all the pictures in a PDF. If I have Booklocker do it, I will have a distribution channel. CALLIOPE: What's your inclination? JOE: I'm still waiting for the jury in my head. You are invited to vote. Talk to you Monday. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Energized. CALLIOPE: Excited about publishing? JOE: Yes. I have been relaxing a bit lately and not forging ahead. CALLIOPE: What got you back in gear? JOE: Who knows? Writing is a mysterious business at least for me. CALLIOPE: In any case I'm glad you're back at it. Tell me of your progress. JOE: The entries are ready. I finished the introduction including the ode I wrote for you and the story about rediscovering you as well as a very brief introduction. CALLIOPE: Did you contact Booklocker yet? JOE: Yes. I was curious about the particulars. CALLIOPE: Anything interesting. JOE: One little surprise. The size of the book can't exceed 3 megabytes. CALLIOPE: Is that a problem. JOE: It is when you take into account the pictures I have attached to each entry. I'm working on my options as we speak. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Excited. CALLIOPE: On what account? JOE: I'm getting ready to publish our book. CALLIOPE: Do you mean Conversations with Calliope: A Writer's Year with His Muse? JOE: Exactly so. CALLIOPE: How did the manuscript suddenly emerge from the mothballs? JOE: I had difficulty knowing how to organize and format it. CALLIOPE: And now those issues are resolved? JOE: They are. I think I know how to proceed and have started putting on the final touches. CALLIOPE: Then what? JOE: I will proofread and print the manuscript and then have my two human muses review it. CALLIOPE: You skipped that step the last time. JOE: I have learned from my mistakes. I'll keep you posted. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Still savoring last night's adventure. CALLIOPE: Tell me about it. JOE: For the first time, I heard Joe Cocker perform. It's been a long time since I had an experience which defies words. CALLIOPE: Tell me more. JOE: We have been discussing words, writing and reading lately. Last night reminded me that there is more to experience than words and ideas. CALLIOPE: Such as? JOE: The visceral aspect. The rumbling of the percussion resonated in the core of my being without conveying any words. CALLIOPE: Did that surprise you? JOE: Not really. I just tend to forget sometimes that words are not everything and that experience can surround me in many ways besides verbal. CALLIOPE: Sounds like you enjoyed it. JOE: I did. The volume of the performance eclipsed any thoughts I might try to have. The music filled me and took over my consciousness. CALLIOPE: Wow! JOE: That's what I thought. I think I need to be more aware of my surroundings and what they have to offer to all my senses. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I was confused about something in your blog yesterday. JOE: Oh? CALLIOPE: You talked about e-book readers but then you attached a picture of a young man talking on his cell phone and ignoring the attractive girl sitting next to him. I didn't get the connection. (See the photo in question in yesterday's post at www.commonsense-wisdom.blogspot.com.) JOE: I guess it was a bit of a stretch. I was thinking about our need for immediate communication which I think detracts from our thinking about what are communicating and to whom. CALLIOPE: I see. Do you think the almost immediate availability of information through machines such as an e-book reader or cell phone a bad thing? JOE: Not necessarily. Other than getting used to the new technology, I am concerned that being in such easy touch with data makes it more difficult for us to think about it in any sort of context. CALLIOPE: Tell me more. JOE: It is as if we are part of the machinery conveying data bits but not evaluating what we are saying. CALLIOPE: What would you suggest? JOE: I'm not sure I have anything to offer right now. It's just a concern I have. CALLIOPE: What do you plan to do personally? JOE: Make sure I have time to digest information by stepping back from the data stream and reflecting on information as it comes in and relating it to what I already know or suspect. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good plan. JOE: It's the only one I have at the moment. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Ready for another week? JOE: I am. CALLIOPE: Tell me about your weekend. JOE: Last time we talked, I was pondering the future of writing in terms of paper or plasma. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: I discovered an Innovation and Creativity Festival taking place at Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday. CALLIOPE: Did you attend? JOE: I took my grandson who I thought would be interested in the robots and of course he was. CALLIOPE: I'm glad you got to spend some time with him. You were talking about the future of writing. JOE: Oh, yes. The first exhibit I found was one on the RIT Open Publishing Lab and the future of publishing. CALLIOPE: What did you discover? JOE: I finally got to hold an e-book reader and examine it. CALLIOPE: What did you think? JOE: I'm ready for one yet. It would be like reading from an etch a sketch. I'll tell you more tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you this morning? JOE: Pretty good. I woke up early and today's blog topic stuck in my mind. CALLIOPE: Did it? JOE: Don't be coy. I know you put it there. CALLIOPE: Okay. So what did you think? JOE: It's catchy and timely. I have been wondering about it lately. CALLIOPE: Tell me. JOE: Last Sunday at a penthouse party in New York I discussed with people the advent of several e-book readers and their potential effect on the publishing world. CALLIOPE: Do you think that's a good thing? JOE: Like anything new, it's a mixed blessing. CALLIOPE: What about for you? JOE: I like the feel of books and am used to holding one while reading. I also like seeing my favorites around me as I write. CALLIOPE: I understand the emotions. How about practicality? JOE: That remains to be seen. I like the idea of having information at my fingertips and being able to carry a library with me. The jury's still out as far as I am concerned. Talk with you Monday. |
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