natalie goldberg old friend from far away

I want you to walk into the heart of the storm, written words dripping off hair, eyelids, hanging from hands.įor those of us who connect with Goldberg’s unusual form of cheerleading, it’s often personal, as it turned out to be for me.

Too often we take notes on writing, we think about writing but never do it. This book is designed not only for you to read but to drench you in the writing process and in your life of memory. In her “Note to Reader,” she opens by saying: Goldberg’s latest book is Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir (2007). She’s been leading workshops since the ‘80s, in settings as diverse as the Antioch Writer’s Workshop and the Kripalu Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. A longtime Buddhist practitioner, Goldberg studied with Dainin Katagiri Roshi at the Minnesota Zen Center from 1978 to 1984. I spoke with Goldberg over the phone this past June, quizzing her about her alternative teaching style. She speaks of the need to observe your “passing thoughts” in order to get to wild mind: the place within yourself that’s devoid of self-censorship. Author of the bestselling guides Writing Down the Bones (1986) and Wild Mind (1990), Goldberg peppers her conversation with Buddhist references like “sitting with my own mind.” But in all cases, she urges writers to dive deep. Some people embrace Natalie Goldberg’s Zen approach to writing others resist it. Ross A Renowned Teacher Challenges the Rules

Natalie goldberg old friend from far away