Author Speak, Pray Like a Woman
We went in to dinner. Moving from one room to the next … I inhaled in passing that incence of an old library which is worth all the perfumes of the world. —Sign in Martha’s Vineyard bookstore Authors Speak This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations. Welcome Polly Alice McCann Photo [c] 2014, Sandra Gould Ford Visit Sandra’s Fine Art America Collections Polly, what phrase inspires your writing and life? In prayer, as in poetry we turn to words, not to use them as signs for things, but to see the things in the light of the words. . . . In poetry, in prayer, the words speak. . . . In our own civilization, in which so much is being done for the cause of the liquidation of language, the realm of prayer is like an arsenal for the spirit, where words are kept clean, holy, full of power to inspire and to keep us spiritually alive. Out of that arsenal we get the strength to save our faith, our appreciation of things eternal, from vanishing away. ~ Rabbi Abraham Heschel How have Herschel’s words helped your writing, your life? When I found Man’s Quest for God in my college library, I realized it was okay to be a poet and an artist. I understood creative work could be both useful and spiritual. Creative work, especially with words, could be building blocks for so many good things. I began by writing poetry, then books. Each creative work opening doors until I could face my own story and share my own testimony with words How these words inspired Pray Like a Woman. When Polly Alice McCann found her hope, faith, and creativity near death’s door, she was blown away by the Biblical story of Tabitha, an artist who made beautiful clothing for the “marginalized .” McCann is the granddaughter of a Midwest Minister and several generations of Heartland prayer warriors, In this book, Polly, shares simple, time-tested methods of prayer and a few new ones. She turns myths about prayer on their heads, proving that prayer isn’t selfish or magical, but can be a journey sometimes like “lightening,” sometimes like walking in “new shoes.” Devoid of “Christianese” or hard-to-get religious concepts, Polly shares twelve types of prayer with fresh and easy-to-remember imagery like “basket prayer” “patchwork prayer” and “flag prayer.” Sample Text Dear Father of all children of every kind, You’re the one who causes everything to grow. Save me from sorrow. I’m in a hard place where nothing is as easy as I expected. People look down on me and I don’t have any kindness left, not even for myself. Some people doubt me and my good intentions; they don’t care for who I am, or the choices I’ve made with my family. They don’t understand my calling or the place you’ve brought me from. They don’t see the good future I know you promised to me and to my family. Help me remember your word. Remind me what is true. GoodReads Reviews Purchase Pray Like a Woman About Polly Alice McCann Polly Alice, McCann is a Kansas City artist, book designer, and poet with her MFA in Writing for children and young adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. Her art has been published in US newspapers and magazines, most recently Rattle Magazine, and has shown internationally from Santa Monica to the Netherlands. Sally’s art has been collected on four continents. McCann has edited three international poetry anthologies and over twenty-five other titles. A professor of poetry and art, she is the managing editor of Flying Ketchup Press. There, Polly “curates” galleries of talent. She says her favorite thing is to tell stories, maybe yours. Learn more at www.pollymccann.com Stories of wonder, fear, doubt, redemption. Summer, 2020, McCann”s Flying Ketchup Press included my short story, “Wishes” in Tales from the Dream Zone. The charming, must-read story is about a woman who finds a coin that gives her anything she wishes for. The story starts, On October 31, 1958, moonbeams lit the stardust that sprinkled Crescent Avenue’s sycamore and hawthorn trees. On that clear, bright evening, candles dimmed inside jack-o-lanterns as Estelle Ringgold Pearson said, “We shouldn’t see any more spooky movies.” Parnell held her hand as they strolled from the Roland Theater. He chuckled. “Did The Queen of Outer Space really scare you?” “When that mask came off, her face was horrifying.” Purchase Tales from the Dream Zone. Thanks for shopping, Sandra
Life Well Lived #11: You Are Vital
We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. – Marie Curie From time to time, I’ve heard wise people say that each of us arrives with one-of-a-kind gifts, a combination of qualities that no one who ever lived or who will ever be born can offer. What might that special ‘something’ be? Here are clues, a list of ten qualities that make everyone unique. What do you discover? Share what you learn. Reply. Comment below. Definitely view this week’s video.The 3-minute Story of Your Life presents a precious insight into why where we place ourselves is important. Petition to Build Statue in Chadwick Boseman’s Hometown During Black Panther‘s opening weekend, a friend who dined with me after the movie had to tell me about Chadwick Boseman and his film career. In the week following his death, the world has come to know him as more than a gifted actor but a caring, compassionate human being … a great role model. When I signed the petition to move a Confederate monument to a museum and replace it with one honoring Boseman, my number was 44,485. Then, the goal was 50,000 signatures. Now, they’re close to 75,000. For more information and to sign the petition, click here. * Tales from The Dream Zone & “Wishes”Tales from The Dream Zone is Flying Ketchup Press’ second anthology. This collection of weird and wonderful stories is inspired by remembered or imagined dreams. “Wishes,” my short story about a magic coin debuts in this collection. Copies of this beautifully illustrated book are $12.99. Sandra’s Special, Limited-Time Offer Receive unlimited, personally-autographed copies on single orders, to one US address for $5 shipping & handling. Request here. * Win National Novel Writing Month In 2019, nearly a half million people started National Novel Writing Month, determined to build at least 50,000 words into the start of a book-length story. A few succeeded. Far more important than piling up words is producing useful material. This Pennwriters workshop will use October to launch a fabulous writing adventure at midnight, Halloween night while winning the word-count challenge.Join me. I’m a NaNoWriMo winner and learned a lot along the way. Course Info * OMAZE Would you like to win a Mercedes Benz camper with an added $60,000 in customizations? How about watching the Monaco Grand Prix with Danica Patrick or cooking with chefs Emeril Lagasse and Aaron Sanchez [a Chopped judge] in New Orleans? These fabulous opportunities and more can be yours for as little as $10. Omaze raises money for great causes by offering fabulous opportunities. Their motto: Good things come to those who give. Visit OMAZE. Labor Day Weekend Deliciousness Interested in some cocktails and mocktails to toast the end of summer? How about a juicy peach crisp or some no-bake desserts? Click here for recipes. * This Week’s Special Offer Each week, my Featured Art is offered at 25% off [plus any discounts offered by my Galleries]. Shop here. Thank you for visiting my galleries and for your purchases. They support Succeed and Soar. NOTE The original was shot with a Nikon Coolpix camera. The jpg was “developed” in Adobe Photoshop Elements 14.
Life Well Lived #10: Stumbles & Stepping High
When life offers lemons, make lemonade. The lemon life delivered this week was my experiment with sweetening the Artisan Bread mentioned in my last post. When a reader wrote that he was going to try the recipe, I advised: Adding sugar and dried fruits didn’t go well. Must run an advisory in next week’s post. Turned out a bit tangy. [Will stick with muffin recipes for that kind of thing.] Perhaps I used too much yeast for the heavier, non-wheat flours. Here’s how I made ‘lemonade’ from that bitter bread: Crumbled everything while watching Chopped-Beat Bobby Flay. Put all those crumbles on cookie sheets, baked them for four hours at 200 degrees. [They got really crunchy.] Made granola with this recipe Decided that was a way lot of maple syrup and honey for a couple servings [made with my dehydrated bread, it tasted like peanut brittle candy], so … Pulverized remaining crumbles in my seed-coffee grinder and now have fine-ground bread crumbs. Voila! Stumbles can be stepping stones. As the philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Geothe said, “By seeking and blundering, we learn.” Learn what? Astronomer Carl Sagan suggested “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” Yeah! And, I promise, no more Artisan Bread posts!! * Commencement Speech Transcript * Write for Succeed and Soar Succeed and Soar’s next theme is “Love.” Twenty great quotes have been chosen as prompts. Let me know if you’d like to share your thoughts, meditations, memories, opinions, and the list of quotes and guidelines will be sent asap. I look forward to publishing you in the Succeed and Soar newsletter and on the blog. Click Here to be a Guest, Succeed and Soar Author. Tales from The Dream Zone & “Wishes” Tales from The Dream Zone is Flying Ketchup Press’ second anthology. This collection of weird and wonderful stories is inspired by remembered or imagined dreams. “Wishes,” my short story about a magic coin debuts in this collection. Copies of this beautifully illustrated book are $12.99. Sandra’s Special, Limited-Time Offer Receive unlimited, personally-autographed copies on single orders, to one US address for $5 shipping & handling. Request here. * Preparing to Win National Novel Writing Month In 2019, nearly a half million people started National Novel Writing Month, determined to build at least 50,000 words into the start of a book-length story. A few succeeded. Far more important than piling up words is producing useful material. This Pennwriters workshop will use October to launch a fabulous writing adventure at midnight, Halloween night while winning the word-count challenge.Join me. I’m a NaNoWriMo winner and learned a lot along the way. Course Info When life offers lemons: Stay flexible. Accept that we can’t control everything and life is unpredictable. Maintain good, healthy relationships with family and friends. Learn from situations so that history doesn’t repeat itself. Stay positive. Here are four more tips. And, here are Five, Powerful Ways to Turn Adversity Into Opportunity. Please share. * This Week’s Special Offer Each week, my Featured Art is offered at 25% off [plus any discounts offered by my Galleries]. Shop here. Thank you for visiting my galleries and for your purchases. They support Succeed and Soar.