The theme for our third issue of Chewing Dirt is Burning.
With this being our July issue, and the influx of support for our journal, for this issue we are inspired by all things fiery. Whether it is the sun warming the pavement in front of your house, or the passion you have for writing poetry, things burn.
Sylvia Plath once wrote "Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air", James Baldwin, "That man who is forced each day to snatch his manhood, his identity, out of the fire of human cruelty that rages to destroy it knows... something about himself that no school on earth... can teach", and Oscar Wilde, "Her feet are very pretty, but they are not feet of clay. White porcelain feet, if you like. They have been through fire, and what fire does not destroy, it hardens". You can follow in the footsteps of these revolutionary writers, and write about resilience, about the power we hold not just as writers but as people.
Alternatively, you could write about the gentleness of incense on a rainy Tuesday morning, the love we forge through the dark, those gaseous celestial bodies we see in the night sky, the softness of sunburnt skin, embers left red on a campfire.
Write an essay about the fire you have within yourself— how it manifests itself in your writing and your relationships with the people you care about. What is that fire fueled by? Anger? Gratitude? Does it burn low and quiet in your stomach, or hot and reaching up to your tongue? What are the consequences of this?
Write a poem about a lost love. How did you respond to their departure? Did you give them their sweatshirt back or is it in a box in the hall closet? Did you burn that letter they wrote you? Did you throw a bonfire in the woods? Did you laugh as you destroyed those memories? Do they haunt you, ghost like, making you sweat in your sleep? Does their name burn in your throat? Acidic and hot?
Write a short story about a character who moves through life as quick as a wildfire. A character who leaves little behind but a memory, blackened wood, ashes on ashes. Do they ever slow down? Sizzle out to a stop? What spark do they leave behind in that old flame? Who got too close?— singed hair and burned fingertips.
We are so excited to see what you all have for us this time around,
Much love.
With this being our July issue, and the influx of support for our journal, for this issue we are inspired by all things fiery. Whether it is the sun warming the pavement in front of your house, or the passion you have for writing poetry, things burn.
Sylvia Plath once wrote "Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air", James Baldwin, "That man who is forced each day to snatch his manhood, his identity, out of the fire of human cruelty that rages to destroy it knows... something about himself that no school on earth... can teach", and Oscar Wilde, "Her feet are very pretty, but they are not feet of clay. White porcelain feet, if you like. They have been through fire, and what fire does not destroy, it hardens". You can follow in the footsteps of these revolutionary writers, and write about resilience, about the power we hold not just as writers but as people.
Alternatively, you could write about the gentleness of incense on a rainy Tuesday morning, the love we forge through the dark, those gaseous celestial bodies we see in the night sky, the softness of sunburnt skin, embers left red on a campfire.
Write an essay about the fire you have within yourself— how it manifests itself in your writing and your relationships with the people you care about. What is that fire fueled by? Anger? Gratitude? Does it burn low and quiet in your stomach, or hot and reaching up to your tongue? What are the consequences of this?
Write a poem about a lost love. How did you respond to their departure? Did you give them their sweatshirt back or is it in a box in the hall closet? Did you burn that letter they wrote you? Did you throw a bonfire in the woods? Did you laugh as you destroyed those memories? Do they haunt you, ghost like, making you sweat in your sleep? Does their name burn in your throat? Acidic and hot?
Write a short story about a character who moves through life as quick as a wildfire. A character who leaves little behind but a memory, blackened wood, ashes on ashes. Do they ever slow down? Sizzle out to a stop? What spark do they leave behind in that old flame? Who got too close?— singed hair and burned fingertips.
We are so excited to see what you all have for us this time around,
Much love.