Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast

Writing with the Seasons - June 2023

Welcome to ‘Writing with the Seasons,’ a collection of writing prompts, ideas and inspiration that follow the rhythms of the natural world as the year unfolds.

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Here are a few breakfasts I’ve recently enjoyed:

Buttered toast with rhubarb jam, eaten while reading Joan Didion’s essay on the actor John Wayne. Didion writes a love song to Wayne, how he was the symbol of America: the ‘inarticulate longings of a nation.’ It’s the story of his life, both the reality and the ways he ‘determined forever the shape of certain of our dreams.’ All these things were delicious.

At sunrise, before hosting a morning writing workshop, I drank jasmine green tea with rose petals. I paused by the kitchen window to see three goldfinches on three tree branches, singing with all their hearts.

Amy Key’s ‘Arrangements in Blue’ is a memoir about intimacy and solitude. In one scene, the author describes the deep pleasure she experiences while cutting and arranging fresh fruit on pretty china plates. I did the same, admiring my beautiful and colourful breakfast display.