Mary C. M. Phillips

While in my own transition, in terms of writing, I read something from Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.  It’s helping me — and I think — it can apply to all forms of writing; be it poetry or songwriting, but what do I know?  All I know is that I like this and it’s hitting a chord.

We write to expose the unexposed.  If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must.  Otherwise, you’ll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you’ve already been in.  Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut.  But the writer’s job is to see what’s behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words–not just into any words but if we can, into rhythm and blues.

Oh boy, the entire chapter is worth copying and pasting, but I’ll leave it at that.