Writing from the Senses
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Exercise: Draw a card from the deck

6/5/2015

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This exercise is about the connections triggered by sight. Nikol Peterman, a writer/choreographer, was in a workshop I gave at the Zen Center of New York City.
Exercise: Draw a card from the deck and write about any association it has for you. At one workshop a participant who was a Buddhist priest drew a four and wrote about the Four Noble Truths. Or you could write about the four directions, north, south, east and west, or about your four siblings. Diamonds could make you think about jeweled rings. Hearts could prompts thoughts about love or heartache. Whatever springs to your mind is perfect.

Author: Nikol Peterman


As soon as the deck was opened, I felt it rising, all the games I played with my grandfather, wanting to win, wondering what his secret was. My grandparents came to visit us when we lived in England and we took a train to Scotland. Of course we played cards: Gin Rummy on the train, the English countryside whizzing by, as I sat in the large cushioned chair, warm and wonderful. The whir of the cards, formed into a deck, shuffled and ready, then dealt. My grandpa? He went out on his first turn, simply laying his cards upside down and smiling. I was amazed, infuriated, intrigued, in awe. How did he do that? Never complicated answers, always that deep smile.


When he passed in 1999, I remembered him. Weeping, I couldn't attend the funeral. I was doing Rockettes at the time and my Grandma said, "Kick for your Grandpa, he would want that." So I looked up into the lights and did just that.

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Exercise: Describe a Place in Nature

1/1/2015

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The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, is a brilliant combination of writing from the senses, adventure, and a spiritual journey. Notice the sound of the river, the colors of the leaves and birds, his use of similes and fresh images. Here’s one of his journal entries:
From deep in the earth, the roar of the river rises. The rhododendron leaves along the precipice are burnished silver, but night still fills the steep ravines where southbound migrants descend by day to feed and rest. The golden birds fall from the morning sun like blowing sparks that drop away and are extinguished in the dark.

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    Readers' Writing

    Readers’ Writing publishes short pieces about writing from the senses each month.

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