🌼Happy SPRING!🌼

Greetings!

The month of March signals the beginning of spring, which is also the time for new beginnings and a time for rejuvenation . . . and don't we all need a bit of that?

March 21 is also World Poetry Day, and in its honor, I've published a few poems this past month. The most difficult and touching one for me to write was "My Mother's Covid." Unfortunately, my mother, who lives on the opposite coast, was diagnosed with Covid-19 days before Christmas. In all honesty, I didn't think she'd make it through. This virus is a nasty one, and as a woman in her 90s, it was really hard for her to overcome it, but she's always had a great immune system, and she did it! She's back in her assisted-living facility.

It's also Women's History Month. It was challenging to select a book to review this month, as there were so many about women to choose from. On one level, the recent election has made a significant mark on women's history, with the nomination of the first female US vice president, Kamala Harris!

The book I chose to review was written by Rebecca Solnit, one of my favorite writers, who offers a broad perspective on women over the past few decades. I hope you consider reading it and also other books she's written.

Have a wonderful beginning of spring, and don't forget to "spring forward" on March 14!

Be well. Be safe.

dianaraab.com

MARCH Writing Prompts

Write about a woman you admire.
Write about a favorite book, where a woman is the protagonist.
Write about any new beginnings you'd like to honor.
Write about your favorite poet and why he/she is special.

Reasons to Celebrate!

This month we celebrate one year of living through a pandemic. In many ways it went so slowly, but in others, it went very quickly. Somehow, many of us are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. That's a cause for celebration, and here are even more reasons:

March 14: National Pi Day. Daylight Savings Time

March 20: Spring Equinox, International Day of Happiness

March 21: World Poetry Day

Recently Published Works

"Happy Month of Love" (blog). Sixty and Me. February 13, 2021.

"You Are What You Think About" (poem). InScribe. February 2021.

"Rockefeller" (poem). Northern Otter Journal: Memories. Winter 2021.

"My Mother's Covid" (poem). Love in the Time of Covid. February 15, 2021.

"How Sensuality Can Heal" (blog). Psychology Today. February 17, 2021.

Recommended Reading

Recollections of My Nonexistence by Rebecca Solnit (essays/memoir)

Rebecca Solnit's magical touch with the written word prevails in this book, which reminds us that not only are we formed by our personal experiences, but the magnitude of our success depends on having our voice heard, especially as women.

Solnit explores many issues in this book, including being a writer, being a woman, gender, family, and nature.

She also writes about walking and describes it this way, "Walking was my freedom, my joy, my affordable transportation, my method of learning to understand places, my way of being in the world, my way of thinking through my life and my writing, my way of orientating myself." (p. 58)