Last Wednesday I asked you what would be your dream place to live your life as a writer. If you have not yet participated in the discussion, go ahead, the atmosphere is crazy! Thank you very much to those who shared their thoughts, I enjoyed reading from you and answering you. ♥︎
So I'm taking advantage of this peaceful weekend to tell you in a little more detail where I'd really like to spend most of my time if my only job was to write you this newsletter. Well, we're allowed to have crazy dreams, right?
The image I have chosen to illustrate the issue of this newsletter is not insignificant. A cabin surrounded by trees, a dense forest, a lake a few meters away... It would be one of my favorite places to write. I am thinking of a very well-known writer here in France, Sylvain Tesson. He wrote a fabulous essay that was then adapted for film: Dans les forêts de Sibérie. The writer spent 6 months alone on the shores of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, 500 km from Irkutsk.
The essay (and film) recount his incredible adventure in the wilderness, with only the wind in the trees, a bear's visit and the crackling lake as distractions. As Sylvain Tesson says so well: “Recette du bonheur : une fenêtre sur le Baïkal, une table devant la fenêtre”. Which translates into English means: “Recipe for happiness: a window on the Baikal, a table in front of the window”.
My haikus often evoke nature, because it is nature that inspires me the most in my writing. For example, read these poems: Colours, Wild Dreams, and Whispering.
I wrote a lot when I lived in the south of France, only 50 meters from the ocean. At night, I could hear the waves rocking me at high tide. It was the first time I spent a whole winter by the ocean, meditating and writing. Seeing the beach covered with a fine blanket of snow gave me incredible sensations. And then there were sunsets and storms. Everything I was going through pushed me to write, over and over again.
I could move to Sweden too. I have a very fond memory of my stay near Stockholm some 15 years ago. I still see these small wooden huts of all colors by the waterfront. The dream place for every aspiring writer.
With winter approaching, some dark thoughts may come and go. Have you read Annie Shaw's story published this week on Scribe? How about addressing your torments directly? Write A Letter To The Darkness.
If you have browsed the pages of the publication this week, you may have seen their new design! I hope you like it! Take a look at the Poetry page.
Until next Friday, the writer and poet Abdullah I. Shawaf is in the spotlight in the new edition of the column. Go and discover his poems!
That's all for today! Thank you all for subscribing to this newsletter in ever-increasing numbers. It is very important to me to write to you here and your support proves to me that I must continue along this path.
Have a great weekend, and I'll see you on Wednesday!