[Music intro]
Hi everybody, and welcome to the Little Oracles podcast, an oracle for the everyday creative. I'm Allison Arth.
So it’s springtime – at least, it’s springtime here in the Northern Hemisphere – and [laughs] so I’m feeling a little fun, a little flirty; and, you know, we sprang forward not that long ago – and by that I mean we set our clocks ahead one hour, in case you’re not familiar with daylight savings time [laughs] – but I’m getting a little more sunlight in the evenings and the little lizard in me is going absolutely ham for it. So, yeah, just feeling a little saucy, a little spicy, and I thought that would be the perfect time so let’s do some hot takes. Just a couple; just some ideas that I’ve been rolling around in my mind for a while, about creative practice and the walls we build between ourselves and that practice.
And, because it’s springtime, and because we’re springing forward and we’re budding and we’re blooming and we love a little sneak peek – a little early preview – we’re gonna dip into the April ABC reading theme and our book club picks for the month of April. So, let’s get into it.
First up, hot takes! And, you know, that might be a misnomer – like, the relative temperature of these takes may be up for debate [laughs] – but I’ve just been thinking about some of the common blockers to creative activity; essentially, the things I hear from friends or colleagues and other people who are wrestling with starting a new project or learning a new skill or taking up a new hobby or just feeling confident in their own creativity.
So, hot take number one: Creativity isn’t what you think it is. Or, I guess to be less gotcha and, uh, gonzo about it, creativity isn’t only what you think it is. So, for most people, the words “creativity” or “creative” or “creator” carry these very lofty, and usually very artsy connotations – you know, visual artists, musicians, dancers, actors, weavers, poets, so forth: those are the people who are “creative” and “creators” and can practice “creativity.” And I touched on this in my very first episode, so if you want to go back and listen to that, be my guest, but, for me, while those words definitely do conjure those artistic pursuits that I just mentioned and a host more, they also can be applied on a scale that isn’t quite so grand and, I don’t know, exalted. They can be applied in much broader ways.
For example, in my world, fixing anything is creative. Like, if you have a wonky cupboard door that won’t close all the way, and you use your experience and your skills to figure out how to correct that wonkiness: that requires creativity. Making a meal is creative – even if you’re using a recipe, you’re still taking a collection of things (in this case, the various foods and spices and all of that stuff) and turning them into something new. Reorganizing your home or a room or even a junk drawer is creative: you’re assessing, you’re editing, you’re revising, you’re reimagining how that space could look and feel and function for you. Doing makeup is creative, making a shopping list is creative, planning your walk or your workout is creative, sowing a garden or even just one plant: It’s all creative. And I say that it’s all creative because all of these things are generative in some way, and they’re transformative.
So next time you think you don’t have access to the identity or the label or just the feeling of being a creator or having creativity as part of who you are, I would ask you to just stop and think again, because you puzzle, and you solve, and you germinate, and you make and create every single day – even if you’re not sitting in front of a canvas, or weaving a tapestry, or writing a novel. Creativity isn’t only what you think it is; it is so much more, and I guarantee it is part of who you are, too.
And that leads me to hot take number two: There is no right time. So, let me tell you a little story, here: I wanted to start a podcast in, like, 2015. And newsflash for you: I started a podcast in 2023. So that’s eight years of faffing around, you know, wandering in the wilderness, trying to decide, like, what it’s gonna be about – which, yes, I realize is kind of the nucleus of the whole endeavor – but I was also trying at the same time to determine whether I was gonna attach it to a Patreon, what my posting schedule would be, what an episode structure would look like, what segments I would do, what the visual identity would be, how I’d market it, what would differentiate me in the landscape, and on and on and on.
And yes, I recognize that all of the solutions to all of those problems are important and worth considering. But that’s the crux of the matter: I was creating problems for myself to solve before I could move forward. I was prevaricating to my own dang self, y’all, and waiting for the day when I had all the answers, and I felt safe in hitting that big red record button.
And I’m here to tell you: that day never came. It- It never came! I never had all the answers. And I got so good at building roadblocks for myself that I just never did it; I never hit that big red record button. Until the day I did; until the day I just said, “That’s it, I’m just gonna take a deep breath and dive into that deep end,” and I’m not gonna worry about planning everything out, and I’m not gonna worry about monetization, and I’m not gonna worry about what episode 15, episode 30, episode 100 is gonna look like. I’m gonna make something because I want to make it. I’m gonna make this podcast because I love talking about books, and I love thinking about creative practice, and I love synthesis, and drawing connections, and thinking holistically and symbolically about, like, life [laughs], and how all those creative pursuits interact.
And you probably have something that you love, too, just as much as I love those things – something you’ve maybe admired from afar and wanted to try, or something that you’re already doing that you wanna share, and maybe you, like me, are waiting for that indeterminate future when engaging in that pursuit or activity or craft or that make will “just make sense,” or “the pieces will fall into place,” or it’ll be “the right time.”
And I hate to break it to you, but that future and that “right time” is never going to get here unless you take that first step. The reason that future looks so good is because it’s a kaleidoscope, not a looking glass: it refracts and multiplies; it doesn’t simply reflect.
And that isn’t to say you shouldn’t dream – you absolutely should; you should dream and wonder and imagine – but I would entreat you to take one of those creative dreams or wonderings or imaginings, and just do it. Just don’t do it all at once, do you know what I mean? Take that first step.
So, even if it seems small to you – even if it’s something like, “I wanna rearrange my entire wardrobe by color,” “I wanna repot all the plants in my living room”; or even if it’s big, even if it’s “I wanna start a podcast,” or “I wanna build a 1,500-square-foot model railway of postwar Manhattan” (which, if you didn’t know, Rod Stewart – as in “If You Want My Body and You Think I’m Sexy” Rod Stewart – he did this, and it is absolutely mind-boggling so I encourage you to look it up); whatever the scale of the creative thing that you want to do is, take the first step. Rearrange the sock drawer. Repot one plant. Record one podcast episode. Build one train depot.
The point is, that future in which you’ve organized the entire closet by color, or repotted every plant in your living room, or published 100 podcast episodes, or built the entire model railroad: that is a rosy future in which you’ve accomplished and achieved and you’ve done – and that’ll will never get here unless you do it once and you see how you like it. And if you don’t – if it was just an itch you needed to scratch that one time – then you can move on to something else. And if you do like it, then you can do it again. And you can see how you like that, again, and again, until it doesn’t serve you or bring you the joy or the spark or the challenge that it did when you started.
Basically, in my mind, creative practice isn’t a sprint, and it isn’t necessarily a marathon, either, because it isn’t always that linear or that homogenous. It’s a series of doings and inquiries that can glom together, you know, like with like, and they can also stand apart, and, taken together, they comprise these beautiful clusters and constellations of creative experiments that represent your whole creative self. Think of your creative practice as a star-field; it’s a galaxy; and it’s just waiting for you to take that first step – to go out and explore it.
[Music break]
So, now that I’m all juiced up on hot takes, let’s unveil something else I’m very excited about: the April Asynchronous Book Club theme, and the books we’re gonna read next month. So, in case you don’t know, April is National Poetry Month in the U-S-of-A, and since I’m a huge proponent and lover and maker of poetry, April is a very special and sacred time for me. [laughs]
And if you listened to episode 6, where I talked about what’s inspiring me, I shared a quote from poet Saeed Jones, and it goes like this: "I think any good poem worth its salt is a spell because it acts upon you." I think about this line so much, particularly about the ties between salt and spells throughout history; and I think about the elemental nature of salt, and salt as seasoning, and spells as spoken, and spells as secrets, and spells as segments of time, like the seasons, and how seasons are kind of like the stanzas of the year – so, basically, I’m thinking about these words as expansively and lyrically and poetically as I can, and in so doing I’ve got an equally expansive and lyrical and poetic reading theme to share with you for April; I’m calling it Salt, Spells, Seasons, Stanzas. So it’s big, and it’s broad, and it’s encompassing, and it’s like a big poetical hug. [laughs]
So I’ve got two ABC picks for the month, because I wanted to let them breathe a little, and I wanted to give you some room, too, to maybe grab another collection of poetry or a novel or short stories or a comic or whatever you want that feels resonant for you, and that feels like, I don’t know, a circle of salt or a sacred spell or the perfect seasoning or a something to represent a stanza of your life. So maybe take a minute and meditate on this theme, even, and just sit with it for a little bit, and maybe you can come up with something that you want to add to your reading list as well.
So if you want to read along, we’re gonna be reading two poetry collections: The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón, and, in gratitude for the inspiration for this month’s theme, Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones. Now, I’ve already read The Hurting Kind; it was part of our original January book club 10 that I kind of broke up across the year in deference to my desire to have a slower and more gentle cadence throughout the year, so we’re gonna be reading it this month – and I even did a Little Review of it in episode 4 if you want a sneak preview of the book – but I really love this book and its inbuilt seasonality, and you’ll see what I mean if you pick it up, so I figured it would be a really great core book for April. And, as always, definitely research content warnings for our book club picks, or any book you’re going to pick up, for that matter, so you can be sure it’ll be a safe experience for you. And, so you know, both of these books are available as digital books, and I know that The Hurting Kind also has an audiobook format, read by Ada Limón herself.
And if you’re interested in reading more poetry, or in hearing poets speak on their craft, or you just don’t know where to start with the genre, then sit tight, because I’m gonna get into that a couple episodes hence with a roundup of my favorite poets and poems and poetry podcasts and prophetic apophthegms about poetry, so look out for that episode; uh, it’ll drop in a few weeks.
And there you have it! Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts; and leave a rating, leave a review if you like what we’re doing – it helps the podcast grow and I appreciate it so much. If you want more big book energy and creativity content, don’t forget to follow (at) little oracles on Instagram, and DM me if you have any preconceptions or stress about creativity that you’d like my hot takes on in future episodes; it could be fun. So, check out the blog at little oracles dot com, and, as always, take care, keep creating, and stay divine!
[Music outro]
[Secret outtake]
[vocalizes bass guitar]
[sings to the tune of “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer] … Gonna do some hot takes baby this evenin’ / hot takes baby tonight / gonna do some hot takes baby this evenin’ / gonna to some hot takes; got to do some hot takes tonight … woo! [exhales loudly] okay, let’s get real. Let’s- let's do this. [exhales]