Friday, January 08, 2010

What's best?

I am applying for a long shot week-long writing workshop. Part of the application is submitting a piece of writing, 1000 words or less. Any topic, any form, but one's best writing.

For years all I have written are blog posts, sermons, and grocery lists, all of which are merely personal letters to loved ones and Trader Joe's.  Sermons are too long. Groceries lists too opaque. So I read back through the nearly five years of this blog, searching for something that would accurately gauge my gifts.  That's a lie: I was looking for something that was better than my actual best, something that would wow the committee:

"Have you read this one yet? She's a pastor in California."
"No, not yet."  Reads. Tears of laughter and sadness roll down the reader's face.  "How could we have missed this brilliance before? Where has she been?"
"I don't know, but I think we should send this to the Pulitzer committee today. Maybe she would lead a workshop for us."
"We couldn't afford her."
"Thank God we opened this email. My spiritual life has been made complete."

Or, alternatively:
bread
wine
olive oil
meat
potatoes
humble pie.

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