Monthly Archives: June 2011

One day to go – river’s eve!

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1 Mosaic
“I am astonished in my teaching to find how many poets are nearly blind to the physical world. They have ideas, memories, and feelings, but when they write their poems they often see them as similes. To break this habit, I have my students keep a journal in which they must write, very briefly, six things they have seen each day—not beautiful or remarkable things, just things. This seemingly simple task usually is hard for them…

…Their journals fill up with lovely things like, “the mirror with nothing reflected in it.” This way of seeing is important, even vital to the poet, since it is crucial that a poet see when she or he is not looking—just as she must write when she is not writing. To write just because the poet wants to write is natural, but to learn to see is a blessing.”

~From The Art of Finding by Linda Gregg

Join the river of stones to practice this way of seeing. If you are a writer, it will help your writing. If you are not a writer, you soon will be, but, either way, this kind of seeing gets you closer to the world. I’ve used a longish quote from Gregg’s article because she describes how the type of exercise we’re proposing can help make us better writers and poets. We found Gregg’s article during the January challenge I think, and it’s confirming to see other writers encouraging people along the sames lines as us. We’re not saying anything new though, really, just encouraging lots of people to join us.

renegade reds dot
a leaf brown landscape—
a pack of newports shouts
viridian blue


Robin Turner

I hope all of your journals fill up with lovely things like “the mirror with nothing reflected in it”, and that you share your small stones with us on your blogs. Find out how to get involved here.

We begin tomorrow!

P.S. Remember that Fiona and I will be on a silent retreat next week. We’ll be keeping our small stones in our paper journals and writing them up online at the weekend, when we’ll also enjoy diving in and reading all of your lovely contributions.

P.P.S Thanks to Leo Renyolds for the countdown photos this week.

One day to go – river’s eve!

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1 Mosaic

“I am astonished in my teaching to find how many poets are nearly blind to the physical world. They have ideas, memories, and feelings, but when they write their poems they often see them as similes. To break this habit, I have my students keep a journal in which they must write, very briefly, six things they have seen each day—not beautiful or remarkable things, just things. This seemingly simple task usually is hard for them…

…Their journals fill up with lovely things like, “the mirror with nothing reflected in it.” This way of seeing is important, even vital to the poet, since it is crucial that a poet see when she or he is not looking—just as she must write when she is not writing. To write just because the poet wants to write is natural, but to learn to see is a blessing.”

~From The Art of Finding by Linda Gregg

Join the river of stones to practice this way of seeing. If you are a writer, it will help your writing. If you are not a writer, you soon will be, but, either way, this kind of seeing gets you closer to the world. I’ve used a longish quote from Gregg’s article because she describes how the type of exercise we’re proposing can help make us better writers and poets. We found Gregg’s article during the January challenge I think, and it’s confirming to see other writers encouraging people along the sames lines as us. We’re not saying anything new though, really, just encouraging lots of people to join us.

renegade reds dot
a leaf brown landscape—
a pack of newports shouts
viridian blue


Robin Turner

I hope all of your journals fill up with lovely things like “the mirror with nothing reflected in it”, and that you share your small stones with us on your blogs. Find out how to get involved here.

We begin tomorrow!

P.S. Remember that Fiona and I will be on a silent retreat next week. We’ll be keeping our small stones in our paper journals and writing them up online at the weekend, when we’ll also enjoy diving in and reading all of your lovely contributions.

P.P.S Thanks to Leo Renyolds for the countdown photos this week.

Amazing podcast: Tea with Dave Bonta

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Dave Bonta, poet and blogger extraordinaire, best known for his via negtiva blog, and for the literary journal he runs with Beth Adams, Qarrtsiluni, also audio blogs the interesting conversations he has with the people he bumps into. He calls these recordings his Woodrat Podcast.

Back at the beginning of May, Fiona and I had the pleasure of (deliberately) bumping into Dave when he came to Wales for the launch of The Book of Ystwyth. 


We sat down over a couple of pots of tea in one of my favorite coffee shops in Aberystwyth, the Orange Grove, and recorded a fascinating conversation, covering writing, religion and the river of stones, as well as some personal sharing (and singing!). The result is Woodrat Podcast 42: Tea with Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita. Listen online now.

That was our second attempt at recording a conversation. That day the very kind couple that were hosting Dave had invited us for lunch, and in the hour before that we had our first wonderful conversation. Dave mentioned his time in Japan living with a Pureland Buddhist family, Fiona and I talked about how we found our way to that religion, about writing small stones, and all sorts…

…it was at this point Dave noticed that the pause button was still pressed, and we hadn’t recorded a thing!

We had an amazing lunch, and then went to the opening of the Clive Hicks-Jenkins retrospective, and eventually found or way down to the Orange Grove where we had a similar but completely different conversation. That’s the one you can hear on Dave’s blog.

Fiona and I stayed up late last night to listen to it – it’s amazing to hear yourself describing your own life and work – a completely different perspective to how one hears oneself from inside one’s own head.

Anyway – go listen - I think the bit about our courtship is in the middle somewhere…..

For when you get scared (on the eve of the river)

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Our river of stones begins tomorrow. Find out more and join us…


A post from the archive by Fiona:
Writing can be a thorny business.

I’ve been doing it for many years now. I have four completed novels behind me, a book of poetry, a book of small stones, and a book of questions.

The blank page still scares the bejesus out of me. I sit down to write my work-in-progress and think ‘what am I doing thinking I can write? of all the deluded (mumble mumble)….’ I have avoided writing poems for almost a year now.

Maybe your small stones will leap eagerly and willingly into your laps, but if you’re like the rest of the human race you might also have occasional thoughts like this. 

How can we continue when we’re convinced the whole project is pointless and that everything we ever write is utter rubbish? By taking a pen and writing a single word. And then another. Thank your doubts kindly for their input, and continue anyway. Reassure your critic that you WILL allow them out, when you have written your small stone and you want to start polishing it, but not until then.

Writing can be a thorny business. But then so is life. We are all in it together. The river of stones, and the river of life. We can encourage each other (do visit each other’s blogs next month and say what you like). We can take comfort in the knowledge that every single writer ever has had terrible doubts about what they’re doing. We can learn how to encourage ourselves, and get better at this as we go along. We can eat chocolate. We’ll be JUST fine. We start tomorrow.

Two days to go – almost there!

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2 Mosaic

“Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable”, and “Everybody is talented, original and has something important to say.” Brenda Ueland

You should join us in July because you are incomparable, talented, and original. Each of you is unique – there are beautiful observations about the world that only you can make.


An empty muffin case lies flat and folded in the road like a fan, abandoned mid-dance. 
Peggy Riley



Each of us is falling in love with the world in our own way, the things you notice will be different to the things your neighbour notices - and both will come from a wonderful place. Human beings are born to be creative, and this creativity comes out of the unique relationship each of us has with the world. Notice one thing each day, write it down and share your very special creativity with us.

Let us know you’re joining (click here). Get the badges, and tell your friends to join us too!

Happy writing!

P.S If you haven’t read Brenda Ueland’s books about writing, I can highly recommend them!

Two days to go – almost there!

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2 Mosaic “Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable”, and “Everybody is talented, original and has something important to say.”
Brenda Ueland

You should join us in July because you are incomparable, talented, and original. Each of you is unique – there are beautiful observations about the world that only you can make.


An empty muffin case lies flat and folded in the road like a fan, abandoned mid-dance. 

Peggy Riley


Each of us is falling in love with the world in our own way, the things you notice will be different to the things your neighbour notices - and both will come from a wonderful place. Human beings are born to be creative, and this creativity comes out of the unique relationship each of us has with the world. Notice one thing each day, write it down and share your very special creativity with us.

Let us know you’re joining (click here). Get the badges, and tell your friends to join us too!

Happy writing!

P.S If you haven’t read Brenda Ueland’s books about writing, I can highly recommend them!

Meet my friend Ruth

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Meet my friend Ruth.

Ruth is 32 and doesn’t know if she wants to be 33. She decides to write a journal for three months while she finds out. Her diary is my novel, Thaw.

In mid-July, Susan has arranged a Q&A session on the book. If you’d like to join in, just read the book by then and post your question on the forum here.

You can get the book from Amazon and keep this author in cake, and you can also read it for free online here.

When you’ve met Ruth, you can meet my other friends Leonard and Violet.
You can’t meet Joe yet, as he hasn’t got a publisher, and poor old April is waiting very patiently for me to get to her. When I get back from France, April, I promise : )

Three days to go

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3 Mosaic “…even on a material level, the other is a great mystery. When we struggle to relate to it, we fall back into personalised approximations. Keeping our sense of wonder and our willingness to encounter the other requires a special kind of reaching out.” Caroline Brazier 

Why you should join the river: Because having a notebook, or a blog, and a vow to write one small stone in it each day can help you keep a sense of wonder about the world. Deciding to take part in the July challenge, to notice something each day and write about it, sets in motion that willingness to reach out – that willingness to really look and listen to the world – and to stand in awe.

Some days our sense of wonder will be clouded, and that’s okay and normal. The commitment to write something everyday can keep us going (and writing) through those cloudy days until the sun comes out again.

On the black river,
a pair of great-crested grebe nod
towards the ceremonies of spring.

Kate Noakes

Let us know if you want to join us. Put our beautiful badges on your blog, and share the joy on twitter and facebook (use the buttons at the bottom of this post).

Happy writing, see you in the river of stones!

Three days to go

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3 Mosaic

“…even on a material level, the other is a great mystery. When we struggle to relate to it, we fall back into personalised approximations. Keeping our sense of wonder and our willingness to encounter the other requires a special kind of reaching out.” Caroline Brazier 

Why you should join the river: Because having a notebook, or a blog, and a vow to write one small stone in it each day can help you keep a sense of wonder about the world. Deciding to take part in the July challenge, to notice something each day and write about it, sets in motion that willingness to reach out – that willingness to really look and listen to the world – and to stand in awe.

Some days our sense of wonder will be clouded, and that’s okay and normal. The commitment to write something everyday can keep us going (and writing) through those cloudy days until the sun comes out again.

On the black river,
a pair of great-crested grebe nod
towards the ceremonies of spring.

Kate Noakes

Let us know if you want to join us. Put our beautiful badges on your blog, and share the joy on twitter and facebook (use the buttons at the bottom of this post).

Happy writing, see you in the river of stones!

The joy of July – four days to go!

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4 MosaicI really look forward to getting back into focusing on the things around me. Too often we just get so caught up in the stress and chaos of our daily lives that we put off being observant. I really need the discipline of learning how to slow down and take a good look around me. The River of Stones was a wonderful exercise for me in January and hopefully I won’t stop after July.
~Mary-Jane, Cracked Sugar Bowl

Why everyone is joining the river: Like Mary-Jane, in January hundreds of people made a commitment to write a small stone every day. In July we’d like you to join us as we do the same again. To reach beyond yourself and notice one small thing each day, and to write it down.

We believe that it’s better to be connected to the world, than not to be. We believe that it’s better to notice the unnoticed, the weeds in the cracks in the pavement and the aphid on the bud of the rose, than to let them slip by. And we believe that writing can help us pay attention to, and become intimate with, the world.

•thirty-one•

It is like a bonus, the thirty-first day. Suddenly, no more fog. Blinding sun. Raging blue, and lacy wisps of cloud to prove the Earth hasn’t stopped in its tracks. Oh, wow. We are never still.

Lis Harvey

You can keep small stones in your paper notebooks and journals, or like hundreds of people did in January you could make a blog for them. Click here to find out how to let us know you’re taking part, and click here to dive in the river and see the small stones people have already started writing.

From the River of Stones blog.