Sadness. Easy or Difficult to write?

     Early in the revision process I received the manuscript back for Almost Bluing for X-tra Whiteness from Big Table Publishing with the below note. It's not surprising. I've heard it before as it applies to my writing. Sad can be beautiful in writing, but, to many, not beautifully lived. I am very grateful for my publisher and notes like this. 

1) Sad. Oh, that's easy to write. 

 It's okay to be sad. We are often told to brush it   off, as if sadness is some sort of insect, some gigantic negative, that people don't ever want to see. Repeat. People don't like it because they don't want to see it. I'd say it's like walking up a sidewalk and seeing chunks of dogshit in your path. Please, brush it away.  Always keep in mind that the world is a difficult place, and emotions are a normal way to deal with that fact. 

  So, it's all okay. Sadness is okay. For me it's   being in a familiar place. According to official diagnosis, for me, it's in remission. Still, it's there---it's, if you can believe it, something which feels comfortable. It's something that I can hold, know it's there at times, and just go on with my life. For those who are on Team Brush It Away, things are good now. As a sober person, I get to walk through things. 

2) Sad. Oh, that's hard to write. 

  A funny thing happened after the announcement that my the novel,  The Shadows of the Seen (coming, 2025) was being accepted for publication. I've shared a lot about how his novel was draining and difficult to write. First of all, t has to do with gun deaths and shootings in this country, Second, what was more difficult was the  writing of one of the characters (Lucky) who is based on a challenging and difficult year I had experienced. Writing it, I was re-affected and exhausted after each reliving of my personal experiences. As a writer, as many of us know, often, there is nothing you can do about this except to go with it, and just keep writing. 

    So, what's the funny thing?  The Shadows of the Seen was accepted by Pierian Springs Press first, before Almost Bluing for X-Tra Whiteness. So, next up for me as a writer is the "What's next?" game.  I thought to look in my 'Poems' folder, thinking maybe there would be enough for maybe half a collection, and I could get to work on that. I was surprised to find there was enough for a full collection. Equally surprising I found the poems, written between 2022 and now, covered much of the same difficult times I had just finished writing within the novel. In a way these two books are companion pieces, covering a lot of the same people, places, and things.  

     I am very proud of both of these books, and very excited for the soon to be launch of Almost Bluing for X-tra Whiteness, and, later, in the future for The Shadows of the Seen, which, I feel, is a strong read, but more so, a very important book.