What Beckons You | Student Work
Many of you have heard me talk about the poet, William Stafford. He was also a compelling teacher, a prince of the imagination, at Lewis & Clarke College in Portland, Oregon. He said to his students, regarding their work, it’s not for me to praise or blame — but in the end, to be envious of your work. This is the pang and pride of teaching, to be inspired to be better by witnessing your work. He also said (when asked in disbelief by his students) how can you possibly write a poem every morning?! To which he famously replied lower your standards. I realized at some point that the man had no arrogance. He didn’t say he had to write a good poem each morning, he just wrote. He didn’t have to feel like writing or have anything good to say, he just showed up. Some work would end up in the trash. He let the world decide.
Tales from Tuscany
I can only give you a glimpse of our time in Tuscany, and that is how it is for all of us. The greatest things cannot be told. And the photos don’t convey the people, the laughter, or how they take such good care of you. Or the full moon rising on our first evening.
I am on the plane home now, and everything is fresh, and so I want to give you a picture. I was with my dear friends Birgit Nass, Mari Bohley and Massimo Polello. And Massimo’s husband, Domenico Quaranta joined us, with the hope and miracle of keeping us organized.
We worked with a couple poems for the week, which Birgit had designed and ready for screen printing. The first one, Prayer, by Galway Kinnell, became a favorite:
Whatever happens. Whatever
what is is is what
I want. Only that. But that.
Such a short poem that keeps working on you like a Zen koan. Perhaps he titled it “Prayer” because it’s a perfect aim and such a far reach, to pray for what happens. It’s a vision that can change the way we respond to our work, and to whatever crosses our path. This is my grail too, my knight-seeking thing . Whatever what is is is what I want. As William Stafford once said, everything is practice.