Lovely Emily. I believe I have sat across from you at a midnight gathering, I am well acquainted with everyone except for Kendall. A blazing fire, embers of stories spraying gold glitter across the black velvet sky. Always an evening of enchantment. See you next time.
Thank you Lor. I think, perhaps we have. I also think that you would adore Kendall, who I started reading after seeing Kimberly recommending her writing. Anyone Kimberly recommends I am sure to enjoy. Kendall’s latest is transcendent. I will look for you under the stars, warmed by the fire of stories, bathed in the magic of the moon, thank you x
Oh, Emily… Goodness, where to begin! I am so very honoured to be included in this list of writers who are blessed to have moved you. It’s an extraordinary thing, to be shown how one's words can find, greet, and then affect another being. There’s a real intensity to having the potential power that one's words wield mirrored, and I’m bowled over by how gently, how artfully, you’ve offered that mirroring. I will save these words, to return to upon the many days which lay ahead where I will question what and why I am doing. Thank you is nowhere near enough, I love you is far more appropriate 💜
Thank you Chloe 💛 I have been an avid reader since I was a child and now, to have the extraordinary opportunity to share what is essentially fan-mail, with writers that I love, is such a privilege. And even more so to receive beautiful responses such as this. Love and hugs xoxo
My hands were busy and dirty, yesterday, Emily, digging, pulling, shifting stones and dividing plants, when I first encountered your 'Word Witcher' piece, which allowed me to simply listen to you, your voice speaking, rather than following along, reading in time with you. I kept working afterward, your storyteller's voice still echoing in my ears for some time. Then, this morning, awake before five I tiptoed down stairs, went outside to listen to the cool chatter of young chickadees and wrens in the damp garden while the coffee brewed, then sat down and decided to read again, before the house began to stir. This time, hands still and mind quieter... each passage through the rhetorical pathways and past your queried precipices, an evocation... the play of light upon the facets of a gem.
Dear David, thank you for listening, for reading and for such a deeply thoughtful and generous response. I have had the pieces of this piece gathering for some time, and now felt like the time to piece them together. Each time I read the wonderful words of yours and these other word witchers, I am thrown from the precipice again, broken and remade. Thank you my friend.
Whelp, there I go with the waterworks. EMILY! This was so gorgeous and generous and transparent and all of the things that make the gooseflesh rise on my arms. I was totally swept away. I was nodding along in absolute agreement. And then to read that I am one of your favorite writers here, after such prose and beauty, has left me without adequate words. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The names I have been included with are beyond humbling. And you, my friend, are one of MY favorite writers here, so this feels even more special.
Your stories never fail to sweep me away, Kendall. I’m so glad to have found your writing here - what a treasure trove of gorgeous writers this place is! Thank you 💛✨ much love xoxo
Dearest Emily, my beautiful poetic and brilliantly creative friend... I am halted entirely in a pool of tears, not once but twice! I listened first, amidst the morning chorus of bird song and now, when finally the ringing of children voices has stopped reverberating in my ears and I have a few silent moments for me, I read again your alchemy of words.
This whole piece, a gorgeousness written so clearly from the very heart of you held me in speechless admiration and awe. Wow... yes to every beautiful line!
"Do you adore and despise, in equal measure, each painstakingly sculpted sentence?"
"Do you slave for the words, as I do? Do you bleed for them, gladly, as I do?"
I know you said 'don't answer, I know you said 'I don't want to know' but...
And, I think perhaps I need say no more...
Except thank you, I adore you and all those brilliant others you mention, I am struggling to believe I could possibly warrant a place amongst you. I am without words... 🥲🙏🏼♥️xxx
Your writing transports me every week Susie and I savour the reading of it, and the journey you take me on. It is more than worthy my dear friend. Thank you for your kindness and the beauty of your words. Love and hugs xoxo
That is, perhaps, a good thing 😘 “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts” — Bertrand Russell xx
Your heart Emily! As I read your words, her fluttering longing rises into mine, echoing the same rapture I feel reading these beauties (and you in your many enchanted talents, stand in our company.) “I am under your spell, and I crave your writing as an addict craves the euphoria of sweet, heady oblivion.” And that’s just it, isn’t it? A craving that comes straight from the soul, the best kind of longing that knows the words, the insight, the turns of phrase, will only make the ache stronger, bring us closer to that original rupture. You’re quite a beautiful being friend and I cherish watching, reading, supporting and sharing in your becoming.
The longing grows ever stronger Kimberly and will never be satisfied, I think. Thank you for reading and for your kindness - I have found that the soft souls of poets are those that I seem drawn to, more and more and I am endlessly astonished by the beauty in your writing. Much love xoxo
Outstanding! Sad, yet strong! Isn't it amazing how words can be shared in order to express the situations we are going through? I think it is! I think all forms of art are expressions of what we go through. It's very beautiful... thank you for sharing.
Back in the Old Irish period, say about 600 - 900 AD, there is an assumption in the stories that words have the power, in the right hands, to directly change the physical world. (I should say that I'm not just regurgitating some fourth-hand whispers about what the 'old Celtic world' was like - I can, and have, read many of these stories in the original - and good heavens they are great. Stark, clear, concise and captivating in the original untranslated language). Poems which pointed out the moral shortcomings of a lord or a king caused actual physical wounds or disfigurements. That all sounds rather miserable and not to the point. But actually it gave me the belief that if we draw the bow-string of language tight enough it will sing and shoot arrows which can directly change the physical world. Of course, everyone knows that there are spells which have magical powers. But abracadabra is not such a spell - it is a clever joke some old poets made to throw us off the scent. The real spells are there, just at our finger-tips. If only we can find them again.
Goodness, to be able to read of such wonder in old Celtic stories David, and in the original language. I was bought up to not believe in magic, but I have long since left behind such childish notions, and now I know that magic is real, and everywhere. Thank you for sharing yours 🤍
Emily 💚💚💚 what an absolute honour it is to know you love to read my words when I so love reading yours. You are one of my favourite writers here, and your artwork is an absolute dream. Thank you my talented friend for such an extraordinary and beautiful and generous piece. Big hugs x
This is such an extraordinary place isn’t it? To discover writing and writers that we love who seem to speak directly into our hearts. The written word can be so evocative that we get to see inside each other’s hearts in a way that we might never manage if we were to have met in real life. Thank you for reading and for your writing 💛Much love x
There is so much wonderful writing here Jo, I can’t quite believe this place actually exists and I get to be friends with writers like you, from across the globe, who share their insides so beautifully and so freely 💛✨
Thank you Chloe 💛 I have been an avid reader since I was a child and to now have the extraordinary opportunity to share what is essentially fan-mail, with writers that I love, is such a privilege. And even more so to receive beautiful responses such as this. Love and hugs xoxo
Lovely Emily. I believe I have sat across from you at a midnight gathering, I am well acquainted with everyone except for Kendall. A blazing fire, embers of stories spraying gold glitter across the black velvet sky. Always an evening of enchantment. See you next time.
Thank you Lor. I think, perhaps we have. I also think that you would adore Kendall, who I started reading after seeing Kimberly recommending her writing. Anyone Kimberly recommends I am sure to enjoy. Kendall’s latest is transcendent. I will look for you under the stars, warmed by the fire of stories, bathed in the magic of the moon, thank you x
Oh, Emily… Goodness, where to begin! I am so very honoured to be included in this list of writers who are blessed to have moved you. It’s an extraordinary thing, to be shown how one's words can find, greet, and then affect another being. There’s a real intensity to having the potential power that one's words wield mirrored, and I’m bowled over by how gently, how artfully, you’ve offered that mirroring. I will save these words, to return to upon the many days which lay ahead where I will question what and why I am doing. Thank you is nowhere near enough, I love you is far more appropriate 💜
Thank you Chloe 💛 I have been an avid reader since I was a child and now, to have the extraordinary opportunity to share what is essentially fan-mail, with writers that I love, is such a privilege. And even more so to receive beautiful responses such as this. Love and hugs xoxo
My hands were busy and dirty, yesterday, Emily, digging, pulling, shifting stones and dividing plants, when I first encountered your 'Word Witcher' piece, which allowed me to simply listen to you, your voice speaking, rather than following along, reading in time with you. I kept working afterward, your storyteller's voice still echoing in my ears for some time. Then, this morning, awake before five I tiptoed down stairs, went outside to listen to the cool chatter of young chickadees and wrens in the damp garden while the coffee brewed, then sat down and decided to read again, before the house began to stir. This time, hands still and mind quieter... each passage through the rhetorical pathways and past your queried precipices, an evocation... the play of light upon the facets of a gem.
Namasté
Dear David, thank you for listening, for reading and for such a deeply thoughtful and generous response. I have had the pieces of this piece gathering for some time, and now felt like the time to piece them together. Each time I read the wonderful words of yours and these other word witchers, I am thrown from the precipice again, broken and remade. Thank you my friend.
Whelp, there I go with the waterworks. EMILY! This was so gorgeous and generous and transparent and all of the things that make the gooseflesh rise on my arms. I was totally swept away. I was nodding along in absolute agreement. And then to read that I am one of your favorite writers here, after such prose and beauty, has left me without adequate words. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The names I have been included with are beyond humbling. And you, my friend, are one of MY favorite writers here, so this feels even more special.
Your stories never fail to sweep me away, Kendall. I’m so glad to have found your writing here - what a treasure trove of gorgeous writers this place is! Thank you 💛✨ much love xoxo
Dearest Emily, my beautiful poetic and brilliantly creative friend... I am halted entirely in a pool of tears, not once but twice! I listened first, amidst the morning chorus of bird song and now, when finally the ringing of children voices has stopped reverberating in my ears and I have a few silent moments for me, I read again your alchemy of words.
This whole piece, a gorgeousness written so clearly from the very heart of you held me in speechless admiration and awe. Wow... yes to every beautiful line!
"Do you adore and despise, in equal measure, each painstakingly sculpted sentence?"
"Do you slave for the words, as I do? Do you bleed for them, gladly, as I do?"
I know you said 'don't answer, I know you said 'I don't want to know' but...
And, I think perhaps I need say no more...
Except thank you, I adore you and all those brilliant others you mention, I am struggling to believe I could possibly warrant a place amongst you. I am without words... 🥲🙏🏼♥️xxx
Your writing transports me every week Susie and I savour the reading of it, and the journey you take me on. It is more than worthy my dear friend. Thank you for your kindness and the beauty of your words. Love and hugs xoxo
Thank you for the encouragement lovely, I don’t think I will ever quite shake imposter syndrome! happy Friday hugs xx
That is, perhaps, a good thing 😘 “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts” — Bertrand Russell xx
I will carry those wise words with me today lovely... thank you💛xx
Your heart Emily! As I read your words, her fluttering longing rises into mine, echoing the same rapture I feel reading these beauties (and you in your many enchanted talents, stand in our company.) “I am under your spell, and I crave your writing as an addict craves the euphoria of sweet, heady oblivion.” And that’s just it, isn’t it? A craving that comes straight from the soul, the best kind of longing that knows the words, the insight, the turns of phrase, will only make the ache stronger, bring us closer to that original rupture. You’re quite a beautiful being friend and I cherish watching, reading, supporting and sharing in your becoming.
The longing grows ever stronger Kimberly and will never be satisfied, I think. Thank you for reading and for your kindness - I have found that the soft souls of poets are those that I seem drawn to, more and more and I am endlessly astonished by the beauty in your writing. Much love xoxo
Outstanding! Sad, yet strong! Isn't it amazing how words can be shared in order to express the situations we are going through? I think it is! I think all forms of art are expressions of what we go through. It's very beautiful... thank you for sharing.
That’s so true Angela - “all forms of art are expressions of what we go through”. Beautifully put. Thank you for reading 💛✨
Oh such a beautiful ode to these writers, here, that do have a way with words and our hearts!
Brava Emily Charlotte!
Thank you Jeannine. I never cease to be astounded by their wonderful writing 🙏💛✨
I read and am subscribed to a few of them on your list...but will definitely have to go read the others too! Thank you!
💛✨ I hope that you love them too x
Back in the Old Irish period, say about 600 - 900 AD, there is an assumption in the stories that words have the power, in the right hands, to directly change the physical world. (I should say that I'm not just regurgitating some fourth-hand whispers about what the 'old Celtic world' was like - I can, and have, read many of these stories in the original - and good heavens they are great. Stark, clear, concise and captivating in the original untranslated language). Poems which pointed out the moral shortcomings of a lord or a king caused actual physical wounds or disfigurements. That all sounds rather miserable and not to the point. But actually it gave me the belief that if we draw the bow-string of language tight enough it will sing and shoot arrows which can directly change the physical world. Of course, everyone knows that there are spells which have magical powers. But abracadabra is not such a spell - it is a clever joke some old poets made to throw us off the scent. The real spells are there, just at our finger-tips. If only we can find them again.
Goodness, to be able to read of such wonder in old Celtic stories David, and in the original language. I was bought up to not believe in magic, but I have long since left behind such childish notions, and now I know that magic is real, and everywhere. Thank you for sharing yours 🤍
This was such a beautiful read. Thank you.
Thank you for reading Aman, you are very kind 💛✨
Emily 💚💚💚 what an absolute honour it is to know you love to read my words when I so love reading yours. You are one of my favourite writers here, and your artwork is an absolute dream. Thank you my talented friend for such an extraordinary and beautiful and generous piece. Big hugs x
This is such an extraordinary place isn’t it? To discover writing and writers that we love who seem to speak directly into our hearts. The written word can be so evocative that we get to see inside each other’s hearts in a way that we might never manage if we were to have met in real life. Thank you for reading and for your writing 💛Much love x
Just beautiful 💜
Thank you Simone 💙
Beautiful Emily! All of it!
This resonated: "Must they be carefully cradled, else they be crushed, and stitched together with gossamer thread? "
What a generous gift to your /our writing friends.
Thanks for being you. xxx💜
There is so much wonderful writing here Jo, I can’t quite believe this place actually exists and I get to be friends with writers like you, from across the globe, who share their insides so beautifully and so freely 💛✨
Thank you Chloe 💛 I have been an avid reader since I was a child and to now have the extraordinary opportunity to share what is essentially fan-mail, with writers that I love, is such a privilege. And even more so to receive beautiful responses such as this. Love and hugs xoxo
Wow, listening to you gave me goosebumps, this is just so achingly beautiful