Dear reader,
Press a flower.
Between your palms. Or betwixt your palm & another’s palm. Or between the pages of a book, a novel, an encyclopedia.
Press a flower somewhere & forget about it. Open your palms up, your pages up, months or years later & find the flower perfectly sprawled there like a frozen thing that will not melt.
It is the end o’ May. There are flowers to press now. And palms to press them to.
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I bite into a cherry. Bite right into the center, gently, until my teeth meet the pit. I took a nap & it is the tart sugar of these cherries that rouse me to write to you today. I’ve been wanting to write to you all day…
I’ve been wanting to write to you all day to tell you some things as this month swells to a close. So, here I am. Bowl of cherries, bowl of cherry pits & stems. Music on, window open, the table I am sitting at a clutter of books, a glass of water, a cup with one sip of coffee left in the bottom of it ~
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Yes.
I am offering a round of Poaceae this summer. Possibly two, if there is enough interest, because I keep these workshops small.
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P O A C E A E
A flower essence + poetry series in six parts
Sundays in July + August
2.30-5.00pm, EST on zoom
$350
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This online series is structured like a traditional poetry workshop. But there are also flower essences involved: as our muses & our anchors for the work.
Our group is small & intimate (seven people) & our time together is saturated with poetry & dappled with an essence for the week.
Each Sunday gathering is centered around writing new poems, sharing these poems in the group, & then receiving feedback for editing & refinement.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite workshops that I offer. It is a nectar of a time, a true decadence.
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I offer three lower cost spaces & I also offer payment plans. Just mention your interest for this in an email to me.
Want more information? Find that here ~
Already know you want to join? Email me: connect@chanelleallesandre.com
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Speaking of writing. Speaking of being surrounded by the nectar of time: this month’s Rhythm/Devotion interviewee invites us into both.
I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Maggy’s work with Regarding Dew three or four years ago & it has been a gentle guide to me ever since. Certain words & practices that Maggy has shared over the past few years have become a sweet refrain for me, have settled in a nest upon one of the many branches of my mind & chirp out to me in times of need. One example: pivot. I will forever associate this word with Maggy & her invitation to “pivot towards wholeness” as an ongoing practice of being more present, sovereign, & authentic to/with myself & thus, others.
Maggy’s interview is like the sweetness of a good, deep inhale. The kind that you don’t need to force, that just, fills you effortlessly & completely. Here is one of my favorite moments from it:
So courting a sense of wonder is primary to my approach—I feel into how that word exists in my body and give myself permission to dive deep. Sometimes I ‘tune into’ people before starting: tuning into the few people that I care so deeply about serving; tuning into the women in my lineage whose deep creativity was often overlooked, repressed, and expressed in private; tuning into myself as a child (undaunted, whimsical, and fiercely committed to dreams); and tuning into the leadership of my inner mentor: this facet that takes a lifetime to cultivate and trust.
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Find the rest of Maggy’s interview by following this link here, or clicking on the photo of her walking in Germany below:
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There are now only two cherries left in the bowl. There used to be seven (I just counted the pits).
And the coffee is gone (I drank it).
And this song has just come on (one of my recent obsessions).
I am going to leave off here & will be in touch again soon, come June. Until then, may you press a flower or, if not a flower, then your palm into the palm of someone you care for, of someone you adore.
Yours,
Chanelle
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This is so brilliant and made me so happy for many reasons.
The 'press a flower' part in the beginning and at the end made me emotional in the best way possible.
Maggy is an amazing human and my new friend and I'm so glad to see you mention her here. And finally, this whole post is just written in a way that makes me feel incredible nostalgia, I'm not sure why. Nostalgia, and the gentle joy you feel when you read something that really resonates.
Thank you for this.