Formal Innovation

Formal innovation means nothing without artistry. I’m reading a fabulous novel with virtuosic formal artistry. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is actually seven nested novels with interwoven plots. But though the form of his novel is compelling, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to sustain a reader if he wasn’t also a fabulous author. Beethoven’s formal […]

Summer Conference 4X

As of last Friday, I have completed my service to MSVMA as staff for the Summer Conference. For four years, I had the honor of working alongside some amazing colleagues in programming, planning, and coordinating the conference, and while I’m excited to be refocusing my volunteer time on the All-State […]

The Little Coincidences

In Mandy’s talk, she talked about paying attention to how you spend your time, and how that makes you feel. I think, just as important, is to pay attention to the little coincidences – the syncronicities – that tell you that you’re headed in the right direction. When you embark on […]

One New Thing

If you can leave a day with one new thing you know how to do, that is a good day. A conference, then, is an embarrassment of riches – new ideas, new friends, new strategies and tricks, every hour of the day. It leaves attendees exhausted from all they’ve taken in. All the […]

Amateur

Yesterday I heard an hour concert from one of thousands of village bands nationwide. The band was made up of amateurs from all walks of life: physicians, retirees, lawyers. They gave up their Monday evenings for rehearsal and performance, simply for the love (AMAteur) of the music. It reminded me of […]

Francis Ledwidge Centenary

One hundred years ago today, Ireland lost the brilliant young poet Francis Ledwidge in Belgium as a soldier in World War I. Ledwidge only published a single volume of poetry during his life; additional works were published posthumously. His poetry gravitates to natural images, notably in a set of poems that imagine months of the year as women – May, […]