The fantasy is so acute! That someone has all the keys to help us unlock the challenge of this creative life. Thank YOU for sharing so many wise mentorish words with so many of us ❤️
Thank you for this beautiful essay, there are tears in my eyes as I write now for what friendship can be and for what Nuzha and her family are going through. Will. E reading both your books
Thank you for this beautiful essay about your and Nuzha’s friendship and reminding us that our peers can be our mentors. I have found myself also dreaming of a mentor in many moments of my life (even now at times!) and I really appreciate this new lens of seeing what a mentor can be. I always look to authors of books that have really moved me and have impacted my writing as mentors I’ve never met. Congratulations on the book award!
ahh Autumn, I am so glad this struck a chord with you, and reading your words makes me think that really what we need is a more capacious understanding of what a mentor can be, outside of the hierarchies we normally understand it---as you note, it can be someone who we don't know personally but whose work we worship and read, a friend who helps us even as we help them, etc!
This is so, so true. I’m also grateful to have writer friends who inspire, encourage and support me. We look up to each other! To have and to be a mentor are two sides of the same important coin. Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute!
"To have and to be a mentor..."--I love that, and am so glad you articulated that. So much of my life as a young writer was feeling like I did not know enough to offer help to others, and like I was only in a position to RECEIVE advice. But you're so right, we are always learning and teaching, simultaneously!
This is SO beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever had a mentor, but I still crave one.
The fantasy is so acute! That someone has all the keys to help us unlock the challenge of this creative life. Thank YOU for sharing so many wise mentorish words with so many of us ❤️
Thank you for this beautiful essay, there are tears in my eyes as I write now for what friendship can be and for what Nuzha and her family are going through. Will. E reading both your books
Thank you so much Sally, this means so much to me that this resonated for you like this. I will share with Nuzha <3
Thank you for this beautiful essay about your and Nuzha’s friendship and reminding us that our peers can be our mentors. I have found myself also dreaming of a mentor in many moments of my life (even now at times!) and I really appreciate this new lens of seeing what a mentor can be. I always look to authors of books that have really moved me and have impacted my writing as mentors I’ve never met. Congratulations on the book award!
ahh Autumn, I am so glad this struck a chord with you, and reading your words makes me think that really what we need is a more capacious understanding of what a mentor can be, outside of the hierarchies we normally understand it---as you note, it can be someone who we don't know personally but whose work we worship and read, a friend who helps us even as we help them, etc!
This is so, so true. I’m also grateful to have writer friends who inspire, encourage and support me. We look up to each other! To have and to be a mentor are two sides of the same important coin. Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute!
"To have and to be a mentor..."--I love that, and am so glad you articulated that. So much of my life as a young writer was feeling like I did not know enough to offer help to others, and like I was only in a position to RECEIVE advice. But you're so right, we are always learning and teaching, simultaneously!
There is always something to learn from others. I'm grateful for this incredibly wild, diverse world of writers and artists!