tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17013540684825465992024-03-10T23:23:57.796-04:00Rachel E. WatsonTally ho, creativity! I'll winkle you out of your foxhole.Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.comBlogger206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-13943088994164581542019-04-23T10:14:00.003-04:002020-10-16T15:32:55.775-04:00Publication News
I have thrilling news to share on the creative writing front!
Some of you might remember that I've been attending Breathe Writers' Conference here in Grand Rapids for the past five years (this year will be my sixth!).
One of my favorite workshop leaders at the conference, Amy Nemecek, who is an extraordinary poet and book editor, decided she wanted to do more for the attendees than provideRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-82816166101370863242019-04-23T09:24:00.000-04:002019-04-23T09:24:11.126-04:00Review: A Prayer for Owen Meany
“A Prayer for Owen Meany,” by John Irving, (William Morrow, 1989) packs a punch. Friendship, love and ironclad faith characterize one of the most unusual fictional characters I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.Owen Meany is small for his 11 years, with a voice “not entirely of this world,” “a strangled, emphatic falsetto,” that sounds like a scream and is always written in capital letters. HisRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-18054454333592780202019-03-01T12:07:00.003-05:002019-03-01T12:07:41.428-05:00Review: The Color of Law
“The Color of Law,” by Richard Rothstein, makes it very clear that segregation in all parts of the country is not and never has been de facto. White privilege persists because of more than a century of unconstitutional “de jure segregation,” or “segregation by law” following the Reconstruction period. A collusion of federal, state and local actions made it so.The book shows all the ways white Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-33450627381650144872018-12-13T23:36:00.000-05:002018-12-16T14:49:26.600-05:00Review: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
"Radium Girls," by Kate Moore
This terrific book is about two of my favorite themes: fighting for justice and giving voice to the voiceless.
It’s an exhaustively researched 475-page tome that flies by with the speed of a novel. I appreciated that the author, being a theater director, was committed to assembling a deep cast of characters and putting the story in their own words and Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-72977603817851849772018-11-26T14:38:00.000-05:002018-12-16T14:49:41.483-05:00Review: My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward
"My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir" by Mark Lukach
This book kept me breathless while reading and left me feeling full. I can’t recommend it enough to those looking to gain a greater understanding of mental illness.
It’s a memoir by Mark Lukach about his wife, Giulia, and the onset of her first psychotic break that came despite no family history of mental illness. Lukach chroniclesRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-14646915333955984932018-11-22T14:44:00.000-05:002018-12-16T14:50:01.889-05:00Review: All the Colors We Will See
"All the Colors We Will See," by Patrice Gopo
I’m ending the holiday feeling grateful for the beautiful words of Patrice Gopo.
I can’t emphasize enough how powerful and deeply thoughtful this essay collection was and how enriched and broadened I feel for having read her poetic and fluid reflections on race, identity, inclusion/exclusion, family, place and culture, marriage and divorce, and Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-39504705126451919602018-09-26T14:47:00.000-04:002018-12-16T14:49:14.017-05:00Review: Solo, by Kwame Alexander
"Solo," by Kwame Alexander
Incredible book.
“Solo” is a young adult coming-of-age novel about the son of an alcoholic rockstar.
It’s told in a cohesive series of poems that range from conversations to solitary reflections to stirring dramatic scenes, with each strung after the other like the notes of a chord in a beautiful song.
Prescribed for anyone who feels the music deep inside and Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-30334067063111152102018-09-19T15:25:00.001-04:002018-09-19T15:25:57.289-04:00Review: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Review: "Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder"
At least half of this biography about a complex family during a fraught period in American history centers around the co-dependent and tempestuous relationship between Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane.
Lane's unbylined authorial partnership with her mother — forged despite Lane's Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-20450803665109701422018-07-27T15:02:00.000-04:002018-12-16T15:03:17.932-05:00Review: Jane Austen at Home: A Biography
"Jane Austen at Home: A Biography," by Lucy Worsley
This book was such a thorough and interesting deep dive into Austen's life, covering her moves from home to home because of increasingly straitened financial circumstances in her large family.
I had no idea her brothers/extended family were such a bunch of scalawags, taking every opportunity to enrich themselves at the expense of Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-57080578662909221102017-10-12T21:07:00.000-04:002019-03-29T11:21:07.796-04:00Review: The Gospel of Ruth
Have you ever experienced real grief? Debilitating loss? Deep pain? If you have, you know platitudes don't cut it. People's assurances that "God has a plan" are salt in the wound.
But what if there is something that could pull you above your grief — not beyond it, but above it, if only just for a moment?
I never do this, but I'm going to blog about a book I'm reading before Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-77285746160800753562016-11-30T19:08:00.002-05:002016-11-30T19:08:48.131-05:00From the Reporter's Notebook: Gratitude Edition
Last week I intended to write up a Wednesday/pre-Thanksgiving post about all the things about being a reporter that make me thankful. But then my husband swept me off to a movie, which I'm thankful we saw. (See what I did there?)
So consider today's entry the post-Thanksgiving, still-grateful-edition.
Here's what I count among my blessings when I'm on the beat:
1. I can't get Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-4112545207032529892016-11-16T19:32:00.000-05:002016-11-16T19:37:18.940-05:00From the Reporter's Notebook, Part 4: On Regrets
I didn't blog last Wednesday, which, as you will remember, was the day after the 2016 presidential election. I just couldn't.
I spent that morning bawling my eyes out in bed while my husband comforted me and murmured his solidarity. I seriously wondered how I was going to get up and face a day at work as a reporter after the news that Trump won the election.
As I was telling my hair Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-37315661026813586652016-11-02T19:33:00.002-04:002016-11-02T19:33:29.643-04:00From the Reporter's Notebook, part 3
When you are a reporter, sometimes you go to an interview with lawyers and you (probably) have food stuck in your teeth.
Now that I have your attention. Really. It's been bugging me all day that I came home from work and took a selfie of my outfit, only to find as I was staring into the lens back at myself that I had some black specks of something stuck in my teeth.
This is before the Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-20296001404713590312016-10-26T18:44:00.001-04:002016-10-27T08:40:26.467-04:00From the Reporter's Notebook, part 2
It's week three on the job in my life as a business reporter, and I'm learning more each day about this work and about myself.
Here are a few examples:
1. I CAN get on stage in front of 300 people and present awards without mispronouncing anyone's names or tripping or getting stage fright. And I did so at Tuesday night's 40 Under Forty Business Leaders event at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-50667490488952081312016-10-19T19:58:00.002-04:002016-10-19T20:09:00.041-04:00From the Reporter's Notebook, part 1
I've been a business reporter for the Grand Rapids Business Journal for a week and three days. In that time, I've written stories on...
The tech industry
A college fair
Game developers
A startup film series
A camp expansion up north
The economic impact of our local zoo and public museum
An animal welfare convention hosted by the Humane Society
A foundation that is making possible Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-62869498407442779732016-10-12T19:32:00.000-04:002016-10-12T19:42:20.933-04:00Breathe Conference: The Tough and the Good
Last week I headed into one of the toughest, yet most rewarding weekends of my year.
Of what do I speak? Breathe Christian Writers Conference. The event in Grand Rapids covers fiction, nonfiction and poetry, as well as insights from editors, agents and marketers on how to get published and grow your platform.
The tough
This year (my third as an attendee) came on the Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-9276169757605496402016-10-04T17:33:00.000-04:002016-10-04T17:33:45.200-04:00A Long Weekend of Book and Writing Discussions Lies Ahead
This weekend brings one of my favorite times of year: Breathe Christian Writers Conference, a time of gathering with like-minded writers and lovers of literature to learn from nationally acclaimed speakers and local folks alike on the craft of writing.
This year's theme is Celebrate Story, and the smart, savvy group of writers, agents and editors who run this conference have been Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-64714499559386468532016-09-27T14:38:00.000-04:002016-09-27T14:38:02.317-04:00Small Group Time: Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone
Last night was the kick-off to my church's fall women's ministry/small group sessions for the year, and I couldn't be happier that I went.
Here's my small group for the year.
If you're an introvert like me, you know that sometimes the most appealing way to spend an evening is at home in your pajamas, nose in a good book or binge-watching your favorite TV show. This is why it's always a Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-78147390848149147362016-09-20T18:35:00.000-04:002016-09-20T18:35:26.785-04:00What I've Been Up to This Summer
It's been awhile since I posted! The summer drifted by in a pleasant laze of trips to Grand Haven, learning to kayak both tandem and single, reading in the backyard or at the beach, binge-watching Netflix shows (The West Wing and Doc Martin), reading some more, and of course, job-hunting.
Oh job-hunting. These days I'm perfecting the art of the cover letter, networking like a boss on LinkedIn, Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-48562137289702781722016-08-01T13:14:00.000-04:002016-08-01T13:14:12.697-04:00When in Doubt, Color
I color in several different coloring books when I'm feeling anxious. This is one of them.
Last night I watched a new Netflix detective show, "Marcella." It stars one of my favorite BBC actresses, Anna Friel, of "Our Mutual Friend" fame. After two episodes of the show, I was a shaky, anxious mess.
If you don't like scary movies or serial killer plots, don't watch "Marcella."
After the showRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-23406898824538624172016-05-24T07:53:00.002-04:002016-05-24T12:21:35.642-04:00Things I've Noticed on My Morning Run
The college whose outdoor track I like to use.
This spring, I've rediscovered my love of running or walking on the community college's outdoor track in our neighborhood. It's delightful to get there before the sun gets too warm and feel the breeze on my face and hear the birdsong in the air while I exercise.
I've also been pairing that time with some shameless people-watching. Here are aRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-40871310743740311982016-05-22T09:48:00.000-04:002016-05-22T09:48:59.126-04:00Five Points In Favor of Taking a Furlough
Over this past fall and winter, I was acclimating to a new job that was almost completely writing-based. I enjoyed it immensely, but was dealing with depression and fatigue at the same time, and so I stopped blogging and writing poetry, essays and fiction for nine months.
I'm here to tell you, I needed that break. And here I am ready to step back into the blogging world again. I also intendRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-84391840436557754472016-05-20T08:59:00.000-04:002016-05-20T08:59:27.161-04:00Extolling Spring
Hello! I’m back to the blogosphere after a bit of a break over the fall and winter. More on that in a future post.
For now, I’d like to take a moment to extol spring. I’ve been rereading the “Anne of Green Gables” series, and it’s notable that so far in the series, every spring is mentioned in great detail, whereas the fall, winter and summer months are often glossed over. It’s because Anne’s Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-79431478959596526972015-08-21T08:00:00.000-04:002015-08-21T08:00:15.621-04:005 Ways to Stimulate Your Creativity (A Reblog)
In case you missed it, earlier this week, a writer friend, Josh Mosey, hosted me on his blog. I wrote on the topic of giving your creativity a little lift when the well is running dry.
Make sure you go check out the post at his site, joshmosey.wordpress.com.
Sneak peak: I talk about one of my new favorite hobbies that has nothing to do with words and lots to do with creativity. You'll wantRachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1701354068482546599.post-57879725382897257042015-08-14T10:14:00.002-04:002015-08-14T10:14:22.688-04:00Poem: Up toward the Heavens
Up toward the Heavens
By Rachel E. Watson
I step my toe over a vine and I wrap my arm
round a branch, swinging myself
upward, higher toward the unassailable height
of the heavens.
I flick my face at a group of leaves
and they care too little to even
flap back at me, until a sudden
wind king forces them forward,
then they bow and rise like
fans in a Rachel E. Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02556760736157241372noreply@blogger.com1