#FridayReads : Emily, Jenny, Wonder Woman, and Me

I have a confession to make. I have been writing a memoir about the years I lived in Yemen for about three years now. At least, that is what I pretend. In reality, I wrote several chapters in a streak of inspiration, then ran into a wall. In my case, the wall consisted of my uncertainty about writing about the time we spent in a small village that was under siege by rebel forces. Uncertainty is not the right word. Inability is more like it. So, there the manuscript sits. Occasionally I pull it up and start writing, only to quit in frustration after a paragraph or two. I don't know how to convey the reality of that time in a way that will make it understandable to my readers.

Make that "I didn't know how..." because, as often happens, everything aligns to give some clarity just when we need it.

The first star that aligned occurred in a writing group I am in. I was expressing my frustration with myself and my writer's block, and mentioned that all I had been able to write about that time in my life was poetry. At that, Jena, the facilitator, said, "So write that chapter as poetry."

Well. Duh. It had never occurred to me to mix genres. My memoir is pretty straight up prose, yet as a writer I have long played with different forms of writing, including all sorts of types of poetry and prose. Why couldn't I mix them up, not just for this chapter, but maybe even for the entire book?

Number one reason that came to my head? I am so NOT Wonder Woman. Sure, I run a homestead pretty much single handedly. Yes, I teach and support my family. Uh huh- I sew and knit and crochet and make soap and bread and...all that stuff. And, yes, I write. But I doubted very much that I have the talent to write something that defies categorization, crossing cultural and genre boundaries in a single bound.

Oops. Wrong superhero.

Jena's words stayed in my head, and I continued writing poems about that time, that village, and what happened there- but not as a part of my memoir. Then came the second star in the lineup, in the form of a book, The Illustrated Emily Dickinson Nature Sketchbook: A Poetry-Inspired Drawing Journal by Tara Lilly.

This is a book that transcends boundaries. Lilly has chosen poetry from Dickinson that celebrates nature, illustrating each with lovely, whimsical illustrations that bring different aspects of each poem to the forefront. In addition, she has left space for the reader to write, draw, color, paint - whatever she likes, inspired by the poem, Lilly's drawings, or nature itself. Part poetry book, part book of illustrations, and part sketchbook, it sets the imagination on fire on several levels. I am no artist, but I have really enjoyed playing with this book.

Then came the last star needed to push me into action. It was another book, this one by Jenny Lawson, better known, perhaps, as simply The Bloggess. See, that even has superhero undertones!

The book is You Are Here: An Owner's Manual for Dangerous Minds. Lawson is well-known for her insightful, often humorous blog in which she shares not only what is going on in her life, but her struggle with mental illness. This is how I came to know of her. Then one day my twenty year old son showed me some of her drawings that he had found on the internet. And WOW. They ran a gamut from fantastical to haunting to lovely to fun. In short, she is as gifted in her art as she is in her writing ability. In this book she brings both together, but even her writing is unexpected. Instead of lots of text, Lawson chooses to write in short, thoughtful, often inspirational bursts that rarely take up even half a page. Opposite each is a drawing that often has another message snaking through it. The drawings are black and white and invite the reader to pick up a marker or colored pencil and start filling in the lines - or drawing outside of them. Like Lilly's book, Lawson's defies categorization. In addition, it is an example in and of itself of breaking personal boundaries, being bold, and following our inspiration.

So that's it. Jena's simple statement, two books that showed that it really is okay to color outside the lines as a writer, and my natural inclination to slap on my cool bracelets and be Wonder Woman, and the wall is starting to crumble. How it will turn out is anybody's guess, but I will get my story told.

Do you have any example of books that cross genre lines? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to break out of the familiar and step into new territory in order to get your story told? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

About the reviewer:  Khadijah Lacina  lives on a small homestead in rural Missouri with her children, horses, goats, chickens, cats, dogs, and an elusive bobcat. She is passionate about speaking up and working for change, and is writing a book about the ten years she spent in Yemen. She is a writer, teacher, translator, herbalist, and fiber artist.