August 2008 Books
The Journey from the Center to the Page
The Journey from the Center to the Page
Yoga Philosophies and Practices as Muse for Authentic Writing
Find yourself in a room full of writers, look around, and what do you see? Coffee drinkers, cigarette smokers, binge eaters, brandy indulgers, bodies built of wiggle and bulge. Is that a fair statement? Of course not. It was my first impression years ago when I attended my first writers' group, but it's a lot less true than it used to be. These days I see writers sharpening up, shaping up, shooing the old image out the door.
But the writing lifestyle is inherently sedentary, and it takes a good deal of commitment to keep it from turning unhealthy. After years of writing and teaching writing classes author Jeff Davis decided to turn the tables in his life by incorporating a series of basic yoga postures into his daily routine. In
The Journey from the Center to the Page he shares with us the difference that made in his life and in his craft, and others who struggle with the expression of their creativity to explore the deepening of connection with the authentic self that comes from integrating simple stretches and intentive postures into their daily activities.
O crumpled crabsfeet! MS Word's spellchecker says ‘intentive' is not a real word. It sees no problem with'‘attentive' and'‘retentive,' though. Dictionaries tend to be sclerotic—can't bend for a neologism (a real word meaning ‘coining new words'). Well, I refuse to be ruled by a computer program. I like ‘intentive,' and I'm the writer here. It stays.
Back to The Journey from the Center to the Page : Beautifully written. Each chapter offers supremely readable stories culled from everyday life as metaphors for the life of the writer/artist, and then moves on to invite us to breathe and stretch and focus… and experience the spillover of grace and ease into our practice as writers. You'll find insights and illustrated simple postures to help you harness and explore your creative faculties; develop discipline; write more authentically; craft more convincing stories, characters and dialogue; convert fear and anger into powerful satire; and make better use of imagery, detail, metaphor and rhythm.
Although Jeff aimed the book primarily at writers, it's packed with a wealth of wisdom and information for creative people in every kind of artistic pursuit.
—Chiwa
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