In 1927, as a twenty-three-year-old postgraduate scholar in Paris, Joseph Campbell first encountered James Joyce’s Ulysses. Known for being praised and for kicking up controversy, the novel left Campbell both intrigued and confused, as it had many others. For the next sixty years, Campbell continued his study of Joyce’s work—writing and lecturing on Joyce using depth psychology, comparative religion, anthropology, and art history as tools of analysis.

Hard Times Require Furious Dancing

New Poems by Alice Walker

Beloved and world-renowned author and activist Alice Walker’s collection of new poems written especially for the times we’re living through.

Alice Walker is known throughout the world as not only a great writer but also an activist and a woman who gives voice to the inner turmoil and outer struggles so many experience. Readers admire her ability to bare her heart and soul, to speak out about the world as she sees it, and to often become a catalyst for change.

These days most of my writing is limited to press materials, short and factual emails, and putting together newsletters for local nonprofits. After talking to fellow NWL publicist Kim Corbin about a short story I wrote in college I realized that I missed creative writing. I started to think more and more about that paper and the class I wrote it for…I got a good grade on it…and more importantly, I enjoyed writing it…so I made a date with myself, took a look at Hal Zina Bennett’s Write Starts: Prompts, Quotes, and Exercises to Jumpstart Your Creativity and assigned myself the following exercise from the book. I’ll let you know how it goes, and I promise to start writing and stop looking for my old typewriter (which would make my trip down memory lane complete).

Monique Muhlenkamp
Publicity Director

Get Unreal: A Writing Exercise
By Hal Zina Bennett

Legend has it that Picasso once got into a discussion with a neighbor who looked at his paintings and told the artist that while his colors were nice and the picture was very pleasant, he should try making them a bit more realistic. Otherwise, he advised, nobody would know what Picasso’s paintings were supposed to be about. The artist, exercising a rare amount of patience, nodded thoughtfully and asked his neighbor if he had an example of what he meant by realistic.