#37 January of 2024 🌸

2024's ins/outs, a short essay, a poetry prompt, and more

Jan 13, 2024

Welcome to The Wordsridge Newsletter — a fortnightly literary and cultural endeavor. peppered with personal stories. curated with care.

Dear reader,

I wish you a very Happy New Year 2024! I hope this email finds you well. Btw how are you doing in the start of the new year? Not much brimming on my side but I look forward to a fruitful 2024 with many more issues of The Wordsridge Newsletter.

To begin with, I am happy to let you know that The Wordsridge Newsletter has hit 80 subscribers in 18 months. And know that on Substack, reaching that number of subscribers is a hefty task. Those who are just starting out on Substack very well know that. It is a huge responsibility to consistently deliver the best possible content that people will actually enjoy reading. While on Instagram anyone can easily gain 500 followers. So, for me this is an achievement and crossing 100 subscribers is a dream.

And thank you for being patient with me as I have been irregular with the issues (because of, you know, life) and for sticking with me and reading what I bring to you. This community here is very important to me and I want to fully embrace it. And a very warm welcome to those who are new here 🌻

In other news, I am currently working on two new poems and have other writing and editing work on my shoulders right now since I now work as a freelance writer, editor, and teacher. I am also going to start reading The White Book by Han Kang (got to know it through a recommendation). And do you know I read a total of 8 books in 2023. I do not read a lot but try to read whenever I get time.

I am also willing to follow the current trend of making a list of 2024 Ins/Outs but my list is from the perspective of a writer:

2024 Ins

2024 Outs

Self-doubt

Writers’ block

Comparisons

Buying books on a whim

Self-deprecation

Seeking validation

Now, below I will be sharing a piece, “What is Home?”, that I wrote for Writers’ Cafeteria. I hope you enjoy reading that!

Prose

What is Home?

Dear friend, you ask me “what is home?” Hmm. What should I say? All homes that I’ve known on this earth are transient but they do have some characteristics. First and foremost, from “home is where the heart is” to Charlie Mackesy’s “Home isn’t always a place, is it?”, we have learnt that home is not always signified by a four-walled structure. Home is where you feel loved, feel safe and is in fact the company of your beloved relations. A house becomes home only because of its inhabitants. Hence, home is basically the company of loved ones.

Home symbolizes love: the unconditional love of the mother, the father, the grandparents; an endearment that no other place can give. The constant, trifle tiffs between siblings, the evening tea-and-snack get-togethers, the serious family meetings, and the memories impressed on the minds and imprinted on each of the objects, are some of the things only available within the warmth of the haven which is called home.

Home as a dwelling place is a shelter where one feels protected from the blizzards (metaphorical) of the world. Even after vacationing for a while the heart feels the pull of home, as we find ourselves anchored to the solace of our homesteads.

There are many ways in which a home is different from other places in the world. It is the place to relax, recharge and steady yourself. In times of illness or struggle it is at home where you can stay and find strength with the support of family. While often the outside world requires you to behave in certain ways which is sometimes not really you, at home you are your true self. At home you can be just as you really are.

I think that when you invite people to your home, you invite them to yourself. ― Oprah Winfrey

Home is a place where you are always wanted, always welcome. Where you don’t have to display your strengths or veil your shortcomings for acceptance. You are accepted just as you are.

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. — Robert Frost

A home holds numerous stories, stories of generations often, of success, of failure, of loss, of the golden moments, of highs and lows, of give and take, of anger, of feuds, of laughter and so on. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that the people in the later stages of life are especially tethered to their homes, cherishing all their years spent there and offering a kind of ode through the daily, unvarying rhythms of their greying life.

It is also true, accept it or not, that home is a graveyard of your secrets too, good or bad, which you bury there before stepping out into the world. And in addition to all this, “home” can be many more things to many other people as I find this word as having open-ended interpretations metaphorically.

Home is where the heart can laugh without shyness. Home is where the heart’s tears can dry at their own pace. — Vernon Baker

Poetry prompt of the day

Do you use forms in your poems? Like the sonnet form, heroic couplet, etc. Whether you love them or find them intricate, it’s a great way to stretch your writing capability. The form I am sharing with you today is called — the Golden Shovel. In this form, take a line (or lines) from a poem you admire and use each word from that line as an end word in your own poem. Credit the poet who wrote the original line(s). Invented by the poet Terrance Haye, it is a clever way to leave easter eggs for your reader 😄

What I found on the internet

Short Books to Finish Off your 2023 Reading Goal — Although the post was meant for finishing 2023 reading goals, you can still check it out if you are looking for shorter reads, thinner spines.
A Kernel on Resolutions — This new issue of The Kernel seems interesting. I haven’t read it but looking forward to it. Check it out.
Lots_of_knots_ — Check out this small business for macramé and crochet products like purses, sling bags, earrings, brooches, etc.

Bulletin board

Encephalon Journal is open for submissions. They are looking for pieces with a voice-driven story, clarity, and emotion. Even better if the pieces focus on workings of the brain or mental health.
The Arboretum is now open for submissions. It is the Arboreal Literary Magazine blog—a space for online-only features of no more than 3,500 words. They want works of critique, theory, literary analysis, social or political commentary, author and artist interviews or small press book reviews. Arboretum submissions are open on a rolling basis, which means you can submit any time.
Swim Press is open for submissions for their blog. This month’s writing prompt is bubbles. 🫧🫧 They want to see iridescent prose & poetry that pops and sparkles! Send your writing via email (submit.swimpress@gmail.com) by the end of the month. Also, there is a live reading opportunity! This month they will invite all the contributors to perform their pieces aloud to a virtual audience.
My freelance writing, editing, and mentoring services are always available should you need them. Shoot me an email at anamt938@gmail.com to get in touch.