It’s funny (or not?) how quickly life can swing between dark and light, depression and elation, stress and relaxation, failure and success. Many of us ride this rollercoaster — November/December has certainly been a ride for me. But the holidays are difficult for many people, and feelings of loneliness, or confusion, or being unloved, aren’t usually cured with the flip of a switch. What’s been built up over years might take years to unravel, and it’s easy to give up and get stuck in a black pit of emotion. The harder you try to claw your way out, the farther you fall.
Maybe sometimes the answer isn’t clawing.
Maybe sometimes the answer is stillness.
Because stillness and mindfulness go together, and both can help us reset, or at least give us a few much needed moments of peace.
When I needed to clear my head, I made my way to a tree light-up at a local outdoor shopping centre. I had just read a post from @ jaytheauthor on Threads where he quoted a stranger he’d met in Brussels:
If you find a cafe in a busy area and spend ten hours sitting in the same spot, you will see so much more of the city than you would walking around all day. When you are still, the city moves around you. When you are moving, you move around the city. It’s easier to notice little details when the city moves around you.
And the insight was probably meant to apply to travel only, but somehow I came to the conclusion it’s more far reaching than that. After all, if stillness can transform a visit to a new city, then perhaps it could do the same for state of mind in general. Especially during a busy, dark, stressful, confusing season (of year, or of life, or both).
So I went to the light up, and the advice was true. I observed my surroundings in a completely new way. A calm way. A happy way. I noticed details I’d never noticed before. And rather than feeling lonely, I felt … alive.
While there, I took notes on my phone. Just some of those ordinary, beautiful details. And they became a poem, which literally took shape (as you’ll see) within a day or two.
It’s my gift to you, my readers. Wishing you light and love and stillness this season.
Agent News
November 30 was an ✨ exciting ✨ publishing weekend, to say the least. Here’s a teaser … (hint: I’m signing something in these photos!)
📣📣📣 I’m thrilled (and honestly, more than a little stunned) to announce I’m now represented by the fabulous Rachel McMillan, literary agent. 📣📣📣
Rachel GOT my book, and me, from the beginning. She’s enthusiastic, hard working, kind, Canadian (a lovely bonus), and a breath of fresh air. We’re going to make a great team, and I can’t wait to get started!
And There’s More
It’s hard to top my big news, but I’m happy to share that I have a micro chapbook of poetry coming out in February with Stripes Literary Magazine! More to come on this in the new year.
I also contributed a book review to the December edition (Issue 14) of Rivanna Review on Homing: Instincts of a Rustbelt Feminist, by Sherri Flick. Copies available through their website.
(If you’re in Canada like I am, though, you’ll have to wait until after the mail gets fully moving again to receive your physical copy.)
Interested in archives content? I’ve got you covered there as well with an article on the power of nostalgia called “Back in the Day: Nostalgia as a Tool for Archives”. Find it in the Winter 2024 Archives Association of British Columbia newsletter (Also, it was nice to be asked to contribute to this issue!)
Finally, Humankind Zine has included my poem “viso” in their Issue 5: Tasting Memories. I wrote this one quite a while ago and it just hadn’t found the right publication, but this theme was the perfect fit.
End of an Era
I was beyond lucky to have experienced the last Taylor Swift Eras Tour show in Vancouver on December 8 at BC Place Stadium. I’m not a fan of huge crowds (I’m originally a small town girl, after all), but the concert was truly magical. Memories were definitely made.
(More photos and video on my Instagram page)
“Paris” (Quotes)
And here’s another Hemingway quote. I just finished reading-reading this book, and I’m so glad I now have my own copy. Highly recommend!
Les Bouquinistes: TV Edition
L’Art du Crime (The Art of Crime)
I stumbled on this show somewhat by accident, when I had run out of new episodes of my regular television programs. Of course I turned to my local library, landing on L’Art du Crime on the Hoopla app. I mean, art and art history? Mystery and intrigue? Set in Paris? It sold itself. What I didn’t realize until I streamed the first episode was that this is actually a French language production, with English subtitles. Major bonus! And an excellent opportunity reawaken that part of my brain. (I don’t get to use my French nearly often enough.)
I was completely hooked before the end of the first episode and have been binging seasons ever since, still working to catch up.
Hoopla describes the series like this:
He’s clueless about art and she’s phobic without him. But together, Captain Verlay and Florence manage to solve high-profile art crimes in the heart of Paris.
Find it here, or check your favourite streaming service.
As always, thanks for reading. Merci!
Sonia
Sonia Nicholson 
Where do people find God? There was an earthquake, a storm & a mighty wind but God could not be found in any of these. Then, after the wind, there came a still, small voice & God’s voice & wisdom could be heard in a more clarion way than the moon on a cold, clear, northern night.
Shall we find calm or peace in a turbulent, excruciatingly loud atmosphere with frenetic activity that would out shadow a shopping center on Christmas Eve? Or shall we find Him in a still, small, quiet manger that can be no further away from us than our own heart?
May we all find the tiny Babe of Bethlehem in the quiet beauty & blissful Eden of Christmas.
Amen & thank you Jesus
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Lovely, thank you. Finding the small, still voice.
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Hi Sonia,
What a wonderful holiday present. Thank you.
I became a follower of your emails a few months ago. I had visited the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and fell in love with Sophie Pemberton, and especially her piece Rejection, for all the reasons that you discuss in your posting. I tried to buy a print or postcard at the gift shop, but none were available. I tried looking for it on-line, but found nothing. I looked in Kathryn Bridge’s books, articles, and YouTube videos, and there was nothing about Rejection. I found Kathryn’s email address on a curriculum vita she had uploaded somewhere and emailed her asking why she had included the work in the exhibit at the Art Gallery, but written nothing about it, and I couldn’t find anything about it. This was her reply:
“Hi Porter, the answer is simple. At the time of the e-book I had not located it. It was last seen in the 1978 exhibition, but disappeared from sight after that. At the last minute just prior to the exhibition, it was located, the painting was in a private collection, and the owner very private. It is now happily in the collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. And yes, I believe it to be totally authentic no issues there at all. Itâs a fabulous painting, especially when you look at all of the details of the studio that she has painted and can see many known paintings hanging on the wall. Seldom does an artist provide us such an intimate view. Kathryn Bridge.”
So finding Rejection on your website was an inspiration, and I immediately signed up for your emails. I’m glad I did, because Wish Upon a Star is inspirational as well, and very welcomed at this particular time.
By way of reciprocation, I’m attaching a short piece that I sent to my extended family for this holiday season. I hope it brings you a smile for the holidays.
Your new friend,
Porter
Sent from Outlookhttp://aka.ms/weboutlook
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Porter,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for reading, and thank you so very much for your lovely comment and the information about Sophie Pemberton’s “Rejection”. (As an archivist, I especially appreciate the historical context!) I would love to find a print for my new study.
Your short piece didn’t attach for whatever reason — I’m thinking it has to do with the website program I’m using — but I would love to read it. Feel free to send it using my contact form. If that doesn’t work, let me know.
I appreciate your support for my work. Thanks again for connecting!
Sonia
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