Now, what we've been all excited about here at Studio Mailbox:
Patti Digh, author of Life is a Verb, 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about bloggin, the Germans and of course her new book!!
Patti, your book is gorgeous. You've got some great stories that are wonderfully written. I love when I laugh on one page and then have my eyeballs brimming over with dripping tears onto the next. In the Movement challenge at the end of "Always Rent the Red Convertible" you suggest slipping extra arty surprises into bill payments. I was like, check...it... out..! Patti' Digh's a guerrilla mail artist!! How long have you been doing this and do you ever receive surprise mail art in return?
First of all, I love, love, love to get real mail in my little mailbox at the Post Office. It’s like a significant little party every time that happens. Woo hoo! So I figured that the man or woman who sits at my electricity or water or phone company might enjoy a little treat every once in a while, too. So far, I haven’t gotten any love notes from them, but maybe life isn’t about the other person’s response, but about your own action. So I keep slipping a sticker or drawing in and hope the universe is receiving it with a smile! What’s important is how it makes me feel, not the unknown reaction of the other.
I'm still wrapping my mind around the way you included illustrations from ALL the artists who responded to your call for artwork. I've never heard of anybody doing this. Was there any hesitancy with that decision?
No hesitancy on my part at all. I dreaded the idea that we would say “no” to someone who had put their heart into it. That didn’t feel like it fit with the spirit of the book. It was really, in the end, the publisher’s decision because they were paying for the printing of the book. At first—before the art came literally pouring in—they said it would be a black and white book and would only feature 37 pieces of art, one per essay. When they saw the love and generosity and sheer volume of fantastic art, they made it a full-color book throughout and vowed to include every piece of art. I was so incredibly delighted to be able to go back to everyone who took the time to make art for the book and tell them their work would be published. That was a remarkable moment for me and felt so inclusive, right in line with my work with the world. I’m very, very proud of this collective lyric poem I have created with artists from around the world. A friend called it a literary and artistic barn-raising and that’s just what it feels like. There’s a lot of intention, attention, and love in this book, from around the world!
Originally, you talked about an accompanying card pack with the book. Is that still a possibility?
I would still love to do this and plan to—sometime! At the moment, I’m a bit overwhelmed by travel and other commitments and am not quite sure how to do it, but soon….soon!
I don't know how these things work, but do you think your book will get translated into other languages in the future? And if so, will you please come tour in Germany first??!!
Publishers in other countries have to first want to buy the rights to publish the book in their language or country, so if you or others know of publishing companies that might be interested, do let them know about Life is a Verb! They can find info at www.pattidigh.com. I would be honored to come to Germany first—I have a very soft spot in my heart for Germany, having spent a semester during college living on Gabelsberger Strasse in Munich!
Your blog, 37days is amazing. What I admire most is how candid you are about the things you feel you need to work on. Is it hard for you to disclose your private stuff?
I have come to realize that the greatest learning and community comes from vulnerability, the ability to be vulnerable with others. If I am willing to share my doubts and questions and failures, it not only becomes more real for me and for others, but also helps others see not an ideal they can’t reach, but a real, live human being who is struggling too. Because 37days, and now Life is a Verb, was and is written for my daughters as an instruction manual for living, I wanted it to be the whole truth, and not just the happy truth.
Since I've began blogging, several well-meaning friends have warned me that I "better be careful" what I blog about if I ever want to work in the United States again. This of course is pretty counter-productive to staying open and honest. What are your thoughts on this?
We live in interesting times where being fully human is punished in the work place. Would you really want to work in a place that couldn’t accept the full you?
Do you have any posts you regret writing?
I took down one post that I wrote several years ago, yes. And there are several stories that I have written in the past few years that were never—and won’t ever—be posted on 37days. The writing of them was for my own processing of an event or pattern or question, and so will remain private. There have been posts that were more difficult to put up on 37days—one that comes to mind was “Unpack your boxes” about the dissolution of my first marriage—and part of that hesitancy is about respecting the lives of others as well as worrying what my mother will say (hi, Mama!).
Of all your writing, the thing that got to me the most was something you posted relatively recently. It was when you lost your tooth. (How are your chompers anyway?) I just sat there crying as I read it. I admired how you openly admitted to how difficult your interactions with other people were at this time. And then you dropped the H-bomb on me. I'm not talking hydrogen. I'm talking about the news about Hillbillys. Oh boy. I've been cracking Hillbilly jokes for years. I've even posted about the Hillbilly Squatter to be evicted from my studio. I've been blaming the Hillbilly for everything that goes wrong around here. And now I just feel awful about it and don't really know how to fix it. What should people do when they've finally been made aware? Do I design "Hug a Hillbilly" t-shirts or maybe "Honorary Hillbilly" patches? Does that kind of compensation just make it worse?
I appreciate your honesty. My expensive replacement tooth is getting along quite swimmingly, thanks! That was a tough thing for me to admit, my Hillbilly jokes about that broken tooth. It wasn’t a pretty thing to own up to, and yet was an important learning for me. I think when we are aware, we have a responsibility to speak from that new truth, not go back and fix all wrongs. The direction of our intention should be toward our new understanding, not back to our old unknowing. And so, perhaps your new role is to find a way to speak up when Hillbilly jokes are told, perhaps with the phrase I was taught recently by Esther Louie, a woman in one of my classes: “I don’t see the truth in that.”
Here in Germany, I'm constantly thrilled with my flea market finds and I blog about them. My German husband rests his head in his hands and says, "Great. A Bavarian dance pillow. Just what we needed." But I can't help it. German pretzels to me is a Shoney's menu to Yaron. Part of me is getting paranoid about my blog and the other part is saying, it doesn't matter. This is my experience and my response to what's around me. I'm not trying to perpetuate stereotypes but at the same time, the things I'm attracted to are stereotypical. Give it to me straight. Is what I'm doing wrong?
I think we discount our direct experience a lot. An amazing woman in our Life is a Verb retreat this past weekend spoke so eloquently to the concept of direct experience. “My direct experience of the world,” she said, “tells me that there is goodness in people, that I will be cared for.” So while the media tells us the world is hard and cruel, or while comic strips tell us that Germans only eat streudel and Americans only eat doughnuts, our direct experience of those cultures will tell us something different. Our direct experience of those cultures—like your living in Germany—will provide a window into the great complexity of those cultures beyond pretzels. You have a responsibility to express your direct experience. That’s really the only experience you can fully express, isn’t it? If your blog is an expression of your direct experience with the world, there is nothing to get paranoid about because your direct experience cannot be measured against someone else’s, can it?
You lived in Germany. What do you love most about this country?
I was there one fall, on a semester abroad program, studying art history, opera, and German history. I loved my time in Germany so much and would love to come back, particularly to visit Munich, where I lived with Frau Schmidt, an amazing woman who owned the Otto Stuben Restaurant at 24 Gabelsberger Strasse in Munich! We lived above the restaurant and I peeled a lot of potatoes that semester. It was a remarkable, strong time in my life. I was near art galleries and beer gardens—what more could you want as a college student? The hiking was incredible and the professors I had were extraordinary. I know that those few months were among the strongest, most sure, and most alive months of my life. I loved everything about it and Germany has a very big place in my heart.
Who's your most inspiring or favorite German?
I have three answers to this question. The first is the poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, whose poetry and writing I adore.
The other two are more personal. First is Frau Schmidt, the remarkable woman who hosted me during my semester in Munich. She was a tough, old German woman who had a heart of gold underneath the rough exterior. I have written about her here.
The second was an art history professor in Munich, a man named Dieter Kuhnel. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more passionate about what they were doing. He completely transformed even the most resistant of people in our class—people who never looked at a piece of art in their lives—into art lovers. In addition to the classroom time with Dieter, it was extraordinary for all of us to meet at a train station to take a weekly journey into the world around Munich with him, to find art in old, old churches and explore its meaning. He was an extraordinary teacher of the highest order. I would love to find Dieter again.
Mr. Brilliant sounds like a fantastic husband. He's got a great blog himself. I don't get over there often enough and when I do it requires all my concentration. My favorite was his post about the density or richness of Dr. Suess language. The man is seriously brilliant. Did you mentor him on bloggin basics? Has he developed his readership?
In addition to being the best husband and father in the whole galaxy, he really is brilliant. I don’t know how he knows all he does know. The kids wait for him to get home before doing their homework because “Daddy knows everything.” I, on the other hand, evidently am chopped liver. Smile.
I helped him set up his blog, but he took it and ran with it, using it to explore the multitude of things that interest and enthrall him. You just never know what you might find there, do you? But always seriously smart, often hysterically funny, and always braodens and deepens my knowledge of the world.
In celebration of your book I've been thinking about a little ATC fun. "Dance in Your Car" has me thinking a lot about how often we spend energy passing judgements about other people. Women seem to be particularily ruthless, especially to other women. I recently had one of the most hurtful experiences imaginable while I was in Switzerland. It included my post-pregnancy body, oppressive heat, a white dress, ill fitting undergarments and the first time I attempted traveling with my child whose food was encrusted all over me. I am going to blog about it and make 37 ATCs. I will send those ATCs to the first 37 people who send me an ATC themed "Different" and their return address. So if you want to play, make some art and send it on over to Germany!! I'll be watching the mailbox.
I’m so sorry that you had such a hurtful experience. How fun to make art from such pain. This sounds incredible! I hope 37days readers will participate in droves!
My heartfelt thanks to Patti for her generosity and time especially since she's been super busy on the road with her book tour... what a great lady hey? I feel like my blog's been blessed or something. I'm humbled!!
What a great interview, TJ! I loved your questions - and Patti's answers. I am now really curious about this book and will add it to my wishlist on Amazon.
Thanks for sharing this all with us, out here!
Jacqueline
Posted by: Jacqueline | October 07, 2008 at 02:42 PM