sounding off with roger mcgough

February 18, 2022February 17, 2022 ~ jama ~ 40 Comments

Listen: hear anything? 🙂

THE SOUND COLLECTOR 
by Roger McGough

A stranger called this morning 
Dressed all in black and grey 
Put every sound into a bag 
And carried them away 

The whistling of the kettle 
The turning of the lock 
The purring of the kitten 
The ticking of the clock 

The popping of the toaster 
The crunching of the flakes 
When you spread the marmalade 
The scraping noise it makes 

The hissing of the frying pan 
The ticking of the grill 
The bubbling of the bathtub 
As it starts to fill 

The drumming of the raindrops 
On the windowpane 
When you do the washing-up 
The gurgle of the drain 

The crying of the baby 
The squeaking of the chair 
The swishing of the curtain 
The creaking of the stair 

A stranger called this morning 
He didn't leave his name 
Left us only silence 
Life will never be the same

~ from Pillow Talk: A Book of Poems (Puffin Books, 1992)

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nine cool things on a tuesday

February 15, 2022August 24, 2025 ~ jama ~ 19 Comments

1. Bright cheery colors and a big shot of joy are just what we need to counter the winter doldrums.

“Daydream painter and magic maker” Julia Eves is a folk artist based in Mississippi who draws her inspiration from nature, her love of animals, and the rich culture of the South.

Julia uses mixed media and bright acrylics to create her pieces, which pulse with life and energy. She paints on both canvas and wood panels. Frida Kahlo is her muse and favorite person to paint.

Visit her Etsy Shop to purchase originals and archival prints. Some of her prints are available at select Home Goods stores. For the latest, check out her Instagram.

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beloved southern folk artist clementine hunter

February 8, 2022February 5, 2022 ~ jama ~ 10 Comments

I’ve always been fascinated by what compels creatives to make art, especially those who are self taught and persist despite overwhelming odds.

Take Clementine Hunter (pronounced Clementeen), one of the South’s most celebrated folk artists. Though she never learned to read or write, and didn’t begin painting until her 50s, she managed to produce between 5,000 – 10,000 paintings, all while working as a cook and housekeeper at Melrose Plantation in Louisiana.

She is known for her unique and vibrant ‘visual diary’ of rural plantation life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an insider’s view of the African American perspective. Not only a pivotal figure in folk art, she’s also remembered as an important social and cultural historian.

Clementine (née Clémence) was born into a French Creole family at Hidden Hill Plantation near Cloutierville in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, around Christmas 1886. A descendant of slaves, she was the eldest of seven children.

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an invitation to follow your heart’s longing

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 ~ jama ~ 38 Comments

Hello Friends,

Today you are cordially invited to a moment of quiet reflection courtesy of Toronto-based author, poet, storyteller and spiritual counselor Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

Consider this a welcome break from daily tasks, rushing about, and crazy-making busyness — a chance to sink “into the fertile soil of the sometimes neglected inner life, where the seeds of remembering what matters are planted.”

THE INVITATION 
by Oriah

It doesn't interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me
how old you are.
I want to know 
if you will risk 
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are 
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life's betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you 
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn't interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know 
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone 
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

~ from The Invitation by Oriah (HarperCollins, Plus Edition, 2006)