“We've had that over and over. But we always survived. We're still here.”— Waubgeshig Rice — Moon of the Crusted Snow, 2018
The younger characters call it an apocalypse. One of the elders corrects them, gently. Apocalypse, she says — there isn't even a word for that in her language.
“The art of losing isn't hard to master” — Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art" (poem), 1976
There's a poem almost anyone can relate to — because everyone has lost something. Elizabeth Bishop spent five stanzas convincing herself losing was easy. Then one line gave her away.
On Staying True — Vince Guaraldi
A respected jazz musician found himself scoring music for a children's Christmas cartoon — and instead of feeling diminished, he felt like he'd bought into something worth giving himself to.
On Presence — Mary Oliver
For over forty years, she walked the same woods each morning, watching what most people walk past without noticing. Mary Oliver's answer to living a wild and precious life wasn't a plan — it was daily attention.
On Legacy — Emanuel Swedenborg
He spent fifty-six years building a name the world respected — then risked all of it for something he couldn't prove. What Swedenborg discovered changes how you think about what actually lasts.