23 Comments

Hi! I did get the “test” — sorry I didn’t write sooner — it was a crazy day! I will reply properly via email tomorrow morning. I’m so glad you said yes! ❤️

Expand full comment

Oh thank goodness - I was beginning to think I had ghost email!

Expand full comment

Yes! Omg when I lived in Minnesota I felt just the same about April. Happy to commiserate!

Expand full comment

I love this. January always feels like a thousand days. This piece really resonated with me. Winter is a forced pause on the busyness of life. It's a perfect time to hunker down and tend to our souls, be creative, and rest.

Expand full comment

Right? I find I'm so much less depressed if I just let it be a hibernation/refresh period, and don't feel like I have to be super productive.

Expand full comment

I needed this! I too loathe January for the reasons you describe, but I also find the dark nights perfect for writing. I always call this Jan.-early March stretch my “writing cave.” Thank you. Loved this. ❤️

Expand full comment

Thank you! Yes, writing cave is a perfect description.

Expand full comment

“You can lean into the bleakness like an anchorite, write monastically, let an austere sort of inspiration infuse your work like light through incarnadine glass. Or you can allow the hard hidden sun to give your writing a brutal, honest beat, the long hallway of January a rehearsal for the endless hallway of death.” Bracing and brilliant--thank you.

Expand full comment

Of course! I'm trying to convince myself, too. :)

Expand full comment

So true. All I want is a fire and soup and tea and books. No words from others, no conversations, except those I write. January and February near a Great Lake are full of wind, snow, gale warnings and crashing waves. Everything outside is battered, and I can write about the battering from my core/soul.

Expand full comment

Dear Amber, hi! I’m excited to follow you here. I sent you an email through your website about you giving a reading where I teach. Hoping it gets to you!

Expand full comment

Hi, Kerry! I responded yesterday - very thrilled and happy to do the reading! I'm so honored to be asked, thank you so much!

Expand full comment

That’s fantastic! I’ve scoured my inbox and spam folder and haven't found your email. Would you mind re-sending it so I have your e-address? I can’t wait to share the good news with faculty here. You have many fans at F&M!

Expand full comment

Hi Kerry! Just reupped it again for you! Let me know if you don’t get it.

Expand full comment

Hi again! Nope — no sign of it in any of my inboxes (Incoming, All Mail, Junk, etc.). Hmmmm. Could you please send me a test email at ksherin@fandm.edu? Maybe I typed in the wrong address on your website….Thank you!!

Expand full comment

Hi, Kerry! Did you get the test earlier today? If not, I think your email may be blocking mine 😭 - and maybe you can DM me on Twitter or on Instagram?

Expand full comment

Haha this made me legit laugh out loud: Besides, when you’re writing even if you feel lonely and sad, you can at least feel artistically lonely and sad.

Expand full comment

I'm usually a firm believer in April being the toughest month to get through, what with winter not giving up its grip in Minnesota, but this year's January is kicking my butt. Vitamin D and a sun lamp are not helping enough, and it's like someone has kidnapped the real sun. Every time I see it, by the time I get out to verify its presence it's gone. I find it easy to do inward things, like reading, watching, or a jigsaw puzzle. But writing is hard for me to get to. Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration!

Expand full comment

I resonate with this so much -- I had to stop reading halfway through and try again, it was too visceral! Love it.

Expand full comment

How amazing--I was feeling so much of this, and just wrote a friend about writing and January feelings yesterday. So honored you found my work worthwhile and so appreciate the recommendation, thank you so much for reading. 💜

Expand full comment

Oh gosh yes - I honestly feel like your emails have been keeping me going this winter! So thank YOU!

Expand full comment

Yes, all of this. “Besides, when you’re writing even if you feel lonely and sad, you can at least feel artistically lonely and sad.” It’s a lifestyle

Expand full comment

It really is!

Expand full comment