Author’s Muse

Theatre is My Yoga

Theatre is My Yoga

Those are the words my daughter volleyed back when I asked if we might want to cut down on her theatre (yes, passive-aggressively) and what I learned prompted my latest article for Your Teen for Parents.  It was so reassuring to see the hearts, shares and  "Yes!"s on...

read more
Muse of Long Forgotten Mothers

Muse of Long Forgotten Mothers

In honor of Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12th, I turn this week's post to novelist Janet Benton, author of Lilli de Jong, a work of historical fiction I recommend. I ran an interview with Janet for my series upholding women who carve brave paths that light the way for...

read more
One Benefit of Dreaming? Creativity

One Benefit of Dreaming? Creativity

If you ask many a writing coach, they will usually steer scribblers far away from writing about their dreams in any final published form.  And, it's true that it can be dangerous to slip into a self-referential blur of abstract prose.  That said, there are some good...

read more
Muse of The Woman Citizen

Muse of The Woman Citizen

In continuing my coverage of Women's History month, my muse this week is a family picture. My great grandmother on my mother’s side, Frances Nelson Tillman (1880-1957), with whom I share my August birthday, was an ardent suffragette. And like me, she was a writer....

read more
Hearing Theresa

Hearing Theresa

“Our archives are treasure troves - a testament to many lives lived and the complexity of the way we move forward. They contain clues to the real concerns of day-to-day life that bring the past alive.” ― Sara Sheridan I now think of my great grandmother every time I...

read more
Circe, Goddess of Character Development

Circe, Goddess of Character Development

“I definitely have a thing for character development” whispered my 15-year old daughter, who has been performing on (or watching) various stages since she was five. We were both drying our eyes on a Sunday afternoon in a post-theatre trance where we didn’t want to...

read more
Muse of "That Woman" Ambition

Muse of "That Woman" Ambition

This week my muse is a question. Will a woman ever be elected president in the U.S.? Is it true that the same assertiveness we applaud in men, we often cringe at in women as political journalist Maggie Astor suggested last week in “A Woman, Just Not That Woman”...

read more
Theatre is My Yoga

Theatre is My Yoga

Those are the words my daughter volleyed back when I asked if we might want to cut down on her theatre (yes, passive-aggressively) and what I learned prompted my latest article for Your Teen for Parents. 

It was so reassuring to see the hearts, shares and  “Yes!”s on the Your Teen Facebook page underneath my article, “The Importance of Doing What You Love.” The kind comments–and tags to other families–reminded me that so many others know that the juggle of stoking our kids creative lives is all worth it.

Here’s the article link from Your Teen for Parents, too. It’s an incredible resource for parents raising teens you’ll want to check out.

[otw_shortcode_button href=”https://yourteenmag.com/health/teenager-mental-health/importance-of-doing-what-you-love” size=”large” icon_position=”center” shape=”square”]My article in Your Teen for Parents[/otw_shortcode_button]
кредит онлайн

Muse of Long Forgotten Mothers

Muse of Long Forgotten Mothers

In honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12th, I turn this week’s post to novelist Janet Benton, author of Lilli de Jong, a work of historical fiction I recommend.

I ran an interview with Janet for my series upholding women who carve brave paths that light the way for other women: Women on a Quest.

But first, I dedicate this post to all of the mothers out there  (biological and otherwise) who feel the energy of caring in their bones.  Here is the excerpt from the preface of Lilli de Jong.

This work of fiction began in the long days and nights of nursing and nurturing my baby. As I held her in my arms and listened to the ticking of a clock, a voice came now and then into my mind. It was the voice of an unwed mother from long ago.

Sometimes she railed against being cast out, with her life derailed for good, while her lover walked freely among respected persons. Sometimes my own moments merged with hers, as when I marveled at the calm that descended while nursing or felt a fatigue I could never before have imagined. After placing my sleeping infant down, I walked to my desk and jotted those words onto scraps of paper.

While pregnant, I was inclined to study. I followed the stages of a growing human. I looked into practices of labor and delivery and armed myself with all manner of ideas and stuff. I considered these acts to be preparatory, even protective. Yet for my own specific labor, and for the actuality of caring for the infant who emerged, I was utterly unprepared.So perhaps this was when the door to Lilli’s story opened: when I was stunned at being the basis of a newborn’s survival and awed by how my body and heart changed in service of her. Becoming a mother was no small shift in identity. I would never see any aspect of living in the same way again.

Oh and be sure to read about Janet’s journey and check out her theme song for her quest to uphold long forgotten mothers.

[otw_shortcode_button href=”http://www.kimnagy.com/interviews/women-triple-quest/the-lilli-quest-the-long-lost-voices-of-fallen-women/” size=”large” icon_position=”center” shape=”square”]Meet Janet[/otw_shortcode_button]