Category: Update

The weather is gorgeous and uncharacteristically warm in NYC today. Amazing, really – and exactly what I needed.. In the cab heading into the city reading the intro to a book containing Rilke’s Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus (stunning), I wrote this..

transfiguration

there is a purpose
cracking open
inside of me
in the squint of
the sun
the rumble of tires
on road
the electric sheen
of the river
in the morning
with city from end
to end –
this glimpse
of the green in the
gray –
ephemeral spirit
of spring,
it tells me –
you will not lose
yourself to this
season.
and if you do
it will be
to find a side of
yourself
that would otherwise
remain
forever hidden –
and unchanged.
i trust
through the ache
that splits the
heart
as the sprout
heaves its first
breath
of unbearable
newness..
i trust
as i always have
in some corner
of myself
that sometimes pain
can transfigure the
soul
even more than
joy.
– ajd, 1/24/12

..always affects me – but sometimes more deeply than others.

I am very lucky to be infinitely inspired by the amazing people I know in this life, and the amazing works of art and literature created by people I never had the chance to know.. but still feel so close to.

First off I just want to point quickly to two such people – my best friend Nick (NJ) Calder who just returned from years in South Korea with an incredible feature length film under his belt – Fear Eats The Seoul! Please consider checking out and donating to his Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to ship the film out to festivals and secure a vaster audience. I’d also like to shine the spotlight on my relatively new friend and fellow writer Michael Stahl who is pumping his fantastic writing out across the internet – and happily also into my site, SUGAR -N- THUNDER! ;) Check out his killer column, DeFaced, by clicking here. His latest post is on a subject I feel very passionate about – that is unexpectedly illustrated by LEGO ads…

I’ve also been writing a lot lately and I’d love to make it a point to share more with you. My first book of poetry and prose is still forthcoming and I can’t wait to do more readings, but in the meantime I want to share at least some of what I write in between..

* I wrote a piece called circles on New Year’s Day, reflecting on the year ahead, the continuity of all things, and some ever-welcome wisdom from one of my all-time favorites, R.W. Emerson.

* I also felt spurred to write this creative call to arms for 2012 on SUGAR -N- THUNDER.

* And last month I lived through the saddest day of my life to date. My beloved Nana passed away and I had the opportunity to read a piece I wrote about her at her memorial. It was one of the greatest honors of my life, if not the greatest honor – just knowing that my mere mortal words could come close to capturing the essence of such a larger than life soul..

I am learning more and more about the power of words everyday – it’s something I don’t take lightly, something I am eternally grateful for. I wrote this the other night on my (freezing cold) walk home..

the words
that sound
out of place
to you now
will later help you
remember
the things you thought
you’d never forget.
so for your
future self
and all your other
selves –
write in the moment
and claim
every bit of life
as yours.
– ajd, 1/18/12

It’s only just begun.. And I am looking forward to it all.

I’ve been a HUGE Queen fan since I was 12 and I am honored and thrilled to have my story included in Bohemian Rhapsodies, a brand new book of true tales by Queen fans and celebrities!

I wrote about my experience performing as Queen’s irreplaceable frontman Freddie Mercury at the first two Official North American Queen conventions when I was 14 and 15 years old!

Click here to read the story in its entirety!

And while I have you.. Happy Holidays & Happy New Year to all! Much more to come.

I’m excited to have a brand new piece in indie feminist fashion magazine, Missfits!

Click here to read my essay, “Self-defeating Sisterhood,” as well as the rest of the issue. I’ve also included the text of the full version – thanks to all the ladies in my life who contributed and sounded off on this topic!

Big thanks to the fantastic Miss Maddie! Be sure to also read her blog, it’s one of my favorites.