Thought for the Day

You learn a lot by staying in one place

But never how the story truly ends.

~ Dana Gioia

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Quoted from Dana Gioia, "At the Crossroads" in Literary Hub, February 6, 2023; Excerpted from Gioia's Collection Meet Me at the Lighthouse (Graywolf Press, 2023)

Dana Gioia, Poet, Literary Translator, Literary Critic, Essayist, Editor, Librettist, Arts Advocate; California State Poet Laureate, 2015-2019

Thought for the Day

History is chasing you, America, like a mean dog, 

and the only way to get it off your back is to turn

around and stare it in the face.

~ Lucille Clifton

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Quoted from Lucille Clifton Reading, Department of English, University of Memphis, and River City Writers' Series, 1992-1993 Series

Lucille Clifton (1936-2010), American Poet, Children's Book Author

Thought for the Day

[. . .] The earth is where we draw our strength.

The community is where we are shaped and held,

validated, known and protected. [. . .]

~ V (formerly, Eve Ensler)

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Quoted from Excerpt from V, Reckoning (Bloomsbury, 2023), Published in Literary Hub Politics, "Banishments Inside of Banishment: How Global Capitalism Destroys Our Connection to Place," February 1, 2023

V (Formerly, Eve Ensler), Playwright, Auhor, Performer, Activist

Thought for the Day

 [. . .] Time is a long sunrise where we wait for our halos.

Night is the ash that covers the light. [. . .]

~ Kelli Russell Agodon

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Quoted from Kelli Russell Agodon, "Till Death Shatters the Fabulous Stars" in Dialogues with Rising Tides (Copper Canyon Press, 2021), p. 48

 

Kelli Russell Agodon, Poet, Writer, Editor, Book Designer, Co-Founder, Two Sylvias Press

Thought for the Day

This beautiful gift of attention that we human beings have

is being hijacked to pay attention to products and someone

else's political agenda. Whereas if we can reclaim our

attention and pay attention to things that really matter,

there a revolution starts.

~ Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Quoted from David Marchese, "You Don't Have to Be Complicit in Our Culture of Destruction" (Interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer), The New York Times Magazine, January 29, 2023

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Member, Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Professor, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Author, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2015) and Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses (Oregon State University Press, 2003)

Thought for the Day

 [. . .] it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence.

And there are so many silences to be broken.

~ Audre Lorde

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Quoted from Audre Lorde, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action" (Essay), Delivered at Modern Language Association's "Lesbian and Literature Panel," Chicago, Ill., December 28, 1977; First Published in Sinister Wisdom 6 (1978) and The Cancer Journals (Spinsters, Ink, San Francisco, 1980) Note: The link is to the essay reproduced by Electric Literature from Sister Outsider (1984), p. 44. The latter comprises a collection of essays and speeches by Lorde written between 1976 and 1984. A 2007 reprint of the collection is available from Crossing Press.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992), American Writer, Essayist, Poet, Feminist, Civil Rights Activist, Professor

The Audre Lorde Project

Audre Lorde Profiles at Academy of American Poets,  National Women's History Museum, and Poetry Foundation

Thought for the Day

Person-to-person is the way the gospel was originally communicated.

Person-in-love-with person, person-respecting-person, person-

forgiving-person, person-touching-person, person-crying-

with-person, person-hugging-person: that's where

 the Spirit is so beautifully present.

~ Fr. Richard Rohr

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Quoted from Richard Rohr, "Jesus's Person-to-Person Ministry," Daily Meditation, Center for Action and Contemplation, December 27, 2022

Fr. Richard Rohr, Franciscan Priest, Ecumenical Teacher, Author, Founder of CAC

Thought for the Day

 [. . .] we live hopeful amid utter senselessness.

~ Joshua Cohen

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Quoted from "The Gods of Chaos and Stupidity," Daniel Drake Interview with Joshua Cohen, The New York Review of Books,  November 5, 2022

Joshua Cohen, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist, Story Writer,  and Editor, Contributor to The New York Review of Books

Daniel Drake, Editor, The New York Review of Books

 

Thought for the Day

It is an act of trust to tell someone that you don't trust them.

~ Nancy Crawford

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Quoted from Nancy Crawford, "Give Generously," Devotional for Day 34, December 30, 2022, The Advent Project, Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts, Biola University

Nancy Crawford, Psy.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University

Thought for the Day

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,

and no good thing ever dies.

~ Andy Dufresne

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Quoted from The Shawshank Redemption's "Andy Dufresne" in Letter to "Red".

Andy Dufresne, Prison Philosopher and Principal Protagonist Played by Actor Tim Robbins in 1994 Film Based on Stephen King's Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Douglas Charles, "Meet Frank Freshwaters, The Real-Life Andy Dufresne Who Served Time and Escaped 'Shawshank Prison'," brobible, March 22, 2022