Weekly Round Up: April Twelfth

This week has been a bit of a strange one here in Colorado.  We had near record breaking high temperatures to start of the week, a blizzard to see us through hump day, and more snow to come for the weekend.  Spring has sprung! Despite all of the chaos mother nature seems to be experiencing in this transitional time, we have been thriving (or trying to, at least).  There are some exciting new ways that borrowed solace will be branching out in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes open for more news from us!  In the meantime, here is what has been inspiring our creativity this week, we hope it might inspire you too!

I am currently getting readying for a writer’s conference, and getting some stories put together for critiques and reviews. One piece in particular, I have been working on since my last year of college two years ago. This piece has sort of haunted me in a way so that I can’t get it quite right; even though I have completed the 100th draft, though I feel a small step towards completion every time a draft is done. Slaying the words, adding new words–revision is definitely the hardest part of writing for me!

Nicole M.

As the daughter of a musician, music has always been a big part of my life.  My parents met because of music, so it’s no wonder I am consistently inspired by new sounds and lyrics.  As a poet (and poetry editor), music is a big part of my writing, too. Songs are poetry to music, after all, and I like to think that a beautifully written song is every bit as dazzling as the perfect marriage of words to the page.

This week, I have discovered a new duo that I have been listening to nonstop, Ward Thomas.  This duo is a sister (twins!) country group from England, and I stumbled on their music a while ago and didn’t listed for whatever reason, then somehow came back to them again this week.  I’ve basically been listening to both their albums (there’s a third that isn’t available to me in the US unfortunately) for the past several days, and while their use of instrumentation and their luscious harmonies are what got me at first, I found myself sitting in my living room listening to their voices as I read along to the lyrics last night and feeling so enraptured by what the songs were saying.

Some of my favorites are “No Filter” which has a fantastic pre-chorus: “I reposition my hands, my hair, my cheek so you might listen to me.  I’ve been conditioned to win a piece of the war you started.” “Little Girl Sorrow” which personifies feelings with the best literary masters, and “This Too Shall Pass” which is so simplistic it makes me want to cry (listen to this one if you are in your twenties and struggling with making sense of your life).

Music always inspires me, and this week it’s been Ward Thomas.  Give them a listen — I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Addey