Noted: Nick Cave, popsicle stick art, an anti-gift guide

Five things worth sharing this week

Hi friends,

Holiday season is upon us and I’m on the lookout for small moments of joy that help me find the magic. I tend to move in the direction of melancholy at this time of year — but isn’t that a sort of joy too? I want to hibernate, to revel in the clear light of December, the falling of the last leaves, a perfectly ripe persimmon. Here’s hoping that you are finding time and taking note of the small moments that bring you joy.

1. I’ve listened to Nick Cave on the On Being podcast with Krista Tippet twice. Nick says that before the death of his son Arthur, he just rolled along with life. Afterwards, there would be no more rolling along, but in its place would be a new dimension. It stayed in my head for months so I listened to it a second time. Again, it jolted me awake. It’s so easy to be distracted, to just go along without realizing the richness of life happening around me. I’ve re-upped my attention inventory with tiny experiments in seeing differently.

2. Having just launched another go-around of The Artist’s Way with a small group of friends, I’m committed to doing the full program. That includes the weekly tasks, which I normally skip. But they are worth it! One of last week’s tasks: things I loved as a kid. I started with the obvious, but then dug deeper. A memory surfaced whole: pedaling my bike almost entirely uphill, Jansport backpack over my shoulders, and cicadas like a choir singing rounds. My destination on those summer mornings was to arts & crafts camp under the pavilion in the local baseball field. Taking an egg salad sandwich in a brown paper bag and eating it in the grass. Last week, WITI featured an article on popsicle stick art. I’m saving this one for the future, and kicking around the idea of creating an arts & crafts camp for adults.

3. Spotify feels boring these days — too much algorithm. I’m craving new music and turned to the sound of home. WXPN 88.5, member-supported radio from the University of Pennsylvania, played in the background for most of my adult life. Their excellent app allows me to listen in from wherever I am.

4. Poem of the week: Persimmons

   In honor of persimmon season: this punch-to-the-gut poem. And a line that lives forever in my head.

   Some things never leave a person:

   scent of the hair of one you love,

   the texture of persimmons,

   in your palm, the ripe weight.

5. An anti-gift guide: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday and ALL of the gift guides have just about done me in. It’s too much. For the last two years, my husband and I have tried something different. In place of gifts, we asked everyone to bring a copy of a favorite poem, to read it out loud, and then to share why they chose it. The following year, we asked for a song (and yes, we all sang along). Success!! Funny and tender and memorable, for all of us, even for the teenagers. And now we all have fragments of poetry in our heads and songs on our playlists that were chosen thoughtfully by our loved ones, and no extra packaging to carry back in our suitcases.

   Nick Cave photo: Megan Cullen

   Persimmons watercolor: Ruth Asawa, Whitney Museum of American Art