6th September 1999

6th September 1999

Two things…

First, my month-long songwriting retreat was both productive and very humbling. I did bring home several raw chunks of music which I will trim and hone and polish until each can stand on its own. Or not. Several people have asked that I explain how the songwriting process works which I will be glad to do sometime in the near future. Suffice it to say, the songs I have written which continue to give me pleasure are the ones that arrived on their own time without being worried or shoved into line. So you can quickly see how dicey it might get in the attempt to write on a time-line. Ha! More later.

I have just returned from an extraordinary trip with 200 other progressives, all readers of The Nation magazine. I can hardly put into words how thrilling it was to be on a cruise liner sailing the inland passage of Alaska with a group of people who enjoyed talking about politics (analysis and activism) from dawn till midnight. I was in a total swoon. Many stimulating and inspiring things happened between the departure from Seward and our arrival in Vancouver seven days later. I will share the most exciting details as soon as I water my plants and unpack.