Warm up the Writing with Music

It’s been bitter cold outside, but that doesn’t mean we’re not having a good time around here.

Okay, “a good time” in frigid temperatures is relative. But last Saturday, I really did have fun.

IMG_0273Thanks to Paul August, who is a poet and a collector of many cool things, I came into short-term possession of a portable LP player. Because my husband is also a collector of sorts, I had no shortage of records from which to choose for the player. And, I had an audience of listeners: the writers at Harwood Place retirement center.

Melissa Tydell wrote a great article about pairing music and writing for The Write Practice, in which she says, “Music has the ability to move us—our memories and our imaginations.” That’s what I was hoping for on Saturday–music that would fill the room and stir the minds of the writers at the table.

The exercise was a hit even before we got started. As soon as I set the records out on the table, I heard ooh’s and ahh’s and “Oh, I remember….” The air was electric, but the hour wasn’t without challenges.

Continue reading “Warm up the Writing with Music”

For Your Lunchtime Listening

Remember this photo?IMG_1207 Me, in my “recording studio” (aka. The closet).

Now you can listen to “The Wurlitzer” online
at The Drum Literary Magazine.

CLICK HERE

Thank you, Henriette Power at The Drum, for publishing “The Wurlitzer.”
And thanks to you for listening.