Love how this braids together liturgy and local ecology. The mismatch between British snowdrops and your dead lambs gets at somethign we skip over too often - that seasonal spirituality has to be grounded in the actual dirt we stand on. I've wrestled with similr disconnects living in a place where advent means thunderstorms not frost. Congrats on the book btw, the grandmother framing is perfect.
Thank you!! It’s not just an academic/mental exercise for me, at least not anymore. I’m really trying to fit these different pieces together into something that makes practical, embodied sense.
Do you know who really got my gears working on the mismatch, though? @Peter Harrison. He’s written a few pieces on Australia and reverse seasonal symbolism that are really fascinating.
Thank you, Laura! I really appreciated this piece, and I’m going to order Sparks and Sacrament shortly. It means a great deal to me that my own musings can (and have) resonated in this way.
Well, it’s part of our post-colonial anglophone conundrum, isn’t it? We’ve been propagated from particular traditions of language, culture, and thought that were transplanted. They aren’t wrong— just… unrooted. And the whole soil metaphor holds really well— because even when I’m propagating my houseplants, a plant can look like it’s doing great for weeks, but ultimately what it needs is to develop that connection between root and soil, or it won’t make it. You can’t just regraft it back on to the mother plant.
Yes indeed; the soil metaphor is very solid, and it is certainly a conundrum. A few months ago my brother made something of an off-hand (but not so off-hand) comment to the effect of: 'maybe it's time we all just went back'. I do believe he said it mostly out of love for the land our ancestors left behind, which is a better motive than a general feeling of shame or homelessness, and his words struck me as profoundly sad and exciting at the same time. I love Australia, and I'd be very sad to leave it, but the deep sensation of belonging that I have experienced in England and Scotland is difficult to argue against ... Yet, I do think the best way forward for most is, of course, some kind of deep integration with the land they intend to stay on at the same time as a thoughtful, redeemed embodiment of their part in their ancestor's story -- even if, for now, it is the part of an exile. What does the redeemed, post-colonial Anglophone part of our seasonal lives look like? Christ show us; Christ fulfil our identity -- and our calendars!
I rushed to buy this when I came across it just now. Can’t wait to receive it in the mail! I love your writing so much, and as an Orthodox woman with literary aspirations, I look up to you quite a bit 💗
Your book arrived today. Oh my goodness what a beautifully designed book— well organized, beautiful font, welcoming to the reader. It’s doesn’t look self published.
Laura, how may I obtain the book without going through Amazon? When the big A swallowed up Whole Foods, that was it for me - I decided J. Bezos had enough of my money and gave up my Amazon account. Let me know what to do, please.
Thanks for saying something, Dana! I was on the fence about whether I should bother listing it as an item on my author website. But you pushed me over the line! :-) Thank you!
Aww thanks, Katie! I hope you like it. I tried to make it pretty. :-)
How I did this: I made a LibreOffice document with all of my essays, then gave myself a crash course in using "Page Styles" to format it (i.e. different levels of headings, text body with and without indent, and so on). The cover I made by buying a stock photo on BigStockPhoto and editing it in Inkscape-- KDP has a widget where you tell it what size book you're making (6x9) and how many pages, and it spits out a template for cover design.
I basically only use open source software, so there was no upfront investment in cost, just in the time it takes to learn how to use the software in more technical ways. A nice thing about OSS is that user manuals are super easy to search.
Honestly, I feel pretty good about it. If you like the look of it when it comes in, and you'd like me to help you do the formatting, I'd be glad to!
Thank you s much that is very generous of you. I need to pull the stuff from my blog first. Self publishing has been a block because it has seemed overwhelming and expensive. Various venders had their hands out..I did pay an artist for a cover for my horse essays. Maybe this will give me the kick to get going.
Love how this braids together liturgy and local ecology. The mismatch between British snowdrops and your dead lambs gets at somethign we skip over too often - that seasonal spirituality has to be grounded in the actual dirt we stand on. I've wrestled with similr disconnects living in a place where advent means thunderstorms not frost. Congrats on the book btw, the grandmother framing is perfect.
Thank you!! It’s not just an academic/mental exercise for me, at least not anymore. I’m really trying to fit these different pieces together into something that makes practical, embodied sense.
Do you know who really got my gears working on the mismatch, though? @Peter Harrison. He’s written a few pieces on Australia and reverse seasonal symbolism that are really fascinating.
Thank you, Laura! I really appreciated this piece, and I’m going to order Sparks and Sacrament shortly. It means a great deal to me that my own musings can (and have) resonated in this way.
Well, it’s part of our post-colonial anglophone conundrum, isn’t it? We’ve been propagated from particular traditions of language, culture, and thought that were transplanted. They aren’t wrong— just… unrooted. And the whole soil metaphor holds really well— because even when I’m propagating my houseplants, a plant can look like it’s doing great for weeks, but ultimately what it needs is to develop that connection between root and soil, or it won’t make it. You can’t just regraft it back on to the mother plant.
Yes indeed; the soil metaphor is very solid, and it is certainly a conundrum. A few months ago my brother made something of an off-hand (but not so off-hand) comment to the effect of: 'maybe it's time we all just went back'. I do believe he said it mostly out of love for the land our ancestors left behind, which is a better motive than a general feeling of shame or homelessness, and his words struck me as profoundly sad and exciting at the same time. I love Australia, and I'd be very sad to leave it, but the deep sensation of belonging that I have experienced in England and Scotland is difficult to argue against ... Yet, I do think the best way forward for most is, of course, some kind of deep integration with the land they intend to stay on at the same time as a thoughtful, redeemed embodiment of their part in their ancestor's story -- even if, for now, it is the part of an exile. What does the redeemed, post-colonial Anglophone part of our seasonal lives look like? Christ show us; Christ fulfil our identity -- and our calendars!
I rushed to buy this when I came across it just now. Can’t wait to receive it in the mail! I love your writing so much, and as an Orthodox woman with literary aspirations, I look up to you quite a bit 💗
You’re so sweet! ❤️❤️❤️ I hope you enjoy it!!
Just ordered the book, can’t wait to receive and read
Oh, awesome! Thank you! I hope you enjoy the labor of love. :-)
Your book arrived today. Oh my goodness what a beautifully designed book— well organized, beautiful font, welcoming to the reader. It’s doesn’t look self published.
What a wonderful, affirming compliment! I’m so glad you like it! ❤️❤️❤️
Laura, how may I obtain the book without going through Amazon? When the big A swallowed up Whole Foods, that was it for me - I decided J. Bezos had enough of my money and gave up my Amazon account. Let me know what to do, please.
Dana
Thanks for saying something, Dana! I was on the fence about whether I should bother listing it as an item on my author website. But you pushed me over the line! :-) Thank you!
https://www.lauraewolfe.com/store/p4/Sparks_and_Sacrament_Signed_Copy.html
Ordered. I’ve enjoyed your essays very much. How did you do this? I am getting the nudge to do this with some of my essays. Congratulations!
Aww thanks, Katie! I hope you like it. I tried to make it pretty. :-)
How I did this: I made a LibreOffice document with all of my essays, then gave myself a crash course in using "Page Styles" to format it (i.e. different levels of headings, text body with and without indent, and so on). The cover I made by buying a stock photo on BigStockPhoto and editing it in Inkscape-- KDP has a widget where you tell it what size book you're making (6x9) and how many pages, and it spits out a template for cover design.
I basically only use open source software, so there was no upfront investment in cost, just in the time it takes to learn how to use the software in more technical ways. A nice thing about OSS is that user manuals are super easy to search.
Honestly, I feel pretty good about it. If you like the look of it when it comes in, and you'd like me to help you do the formatting, I'd be glad to!
Thank you s much that is very generous of you. I need to pull the stuff from my blog first. Self publishing has been a block because it has seemed overwhelming and expensive. Various venders had their hands out..I did pay an artist for a cover for my horse essays. Maybe this will give me the kick to get going.