creative writing – Live Laugh Love Do http://livelaughlovedo.com A Super Fun Site Sat, 20 Sep 2025 23:59:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 Or, How to Write the Book of Love – The Marginalian http://livelaughlovedo.com/or-how-to-write-the-book-of-love-the-marginalian/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/or-how-to-write-the-book-of-love-the-marginalian/#respond Sat, 20 Sep 2025 23:59:19 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/09/21/or-how-to-write-the-book-of-love-the-marginalian/ [ad_1]

By Maria Popova

I spent the summer using the fantastic binomial technique developed by Gianni Rodari — the beloved Italian writer whose stories lit up my Bulgarian childhood — as a creative prompt for poetry, part of the larger binomial two people co-create when their worlds touch each other in a meaningful way. Each week I’d be given two unrelated words and tasked with twining them into a poem.

Summers end. Worlds tilt away from each other, drift apart, resume their orbit, transformed. This is how the final binomial — “dust” and “life” — wrote itself in me, read here by the living poem that is Nick Cave.

ODE TO A GOOD PEN
by Maria Popova

Over and over
we borrow the book of love
from the lending library of the possible
and ask of it
        everything,
only to find its pages
blank and beckoning,
impelling us
to keep writing the story
as it keeps changing,
keeps reading us
back to ourselves —
an endless translation
from some other tongue,
unfinished and unfinishable,
written in dust
between endpapers
marbled with life.

Then, “Forgiveness.”

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]]> http://livelaughlovedo.com/or-how-to-write-the-book-of-love-the-marginalian/feed/ 0 Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 882 http://livelaughlovedo.com/makeup-and-beauty-blog-monday-poll-vol-882/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/makeup-and-beauty-blog-monday-poll-vol-882/#respond Thu, 12 Jun 2025 12:22:31 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/06/12/makeup-and-beauty-blog-monday-poll-vol-882/ [ad_1]

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Loose or fitted t-shirts?

Generally, I like my tees slightly loose-y goose-y if I’m wearing them with jeans or shorts. If I’m layering with a sweater or a sweatshirt on top, then fitted.

2. What’s the oldest thing in your makeup bag right now?

Hmm, the brushes? Oh, and I’m almost embarrassed to say this out loud, but I have an ancient Nordstrom Naturals MAC palette that I bust out every so often.

3. How’s your June going so far?

It’s been very, very busy with end-of-the-year activities, dance things and whatnot. Things will kinda slow down after June 30, which I’m looking forward to.

4. How do you feel about walking around in sandals or flip flops without your toenails painted?

I like my toe nails to be painted a fun color, but I don’t stress if I don’t get around to a weekly pedicure.

5. What are you happy about right now?

Well, today’s my birthday, and I’m overjoyed to say that I’m healthy and I’m alive! Having health scares will do that to ya, I guess. I’m also happy to be surrounded by the people I love the most. Oh, and the opportunity to do something creative that’s just for me (like the Monday poll) is the icing on the cake. I’ve been on the verge of happy tears all day. It’s been a great!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Loose or fitted t-shirts?
2. What’s the oldest thing in your makeup bag right now?
3. How’s your June going so far?
4. How do you feel about walking around in sandals or flip flops without your toenails painted?
5. What are you happy about right now?

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