Keep the Channel Open

I attended a poetry reading given by poet Cecilia Woloch the other day at the EKU MFA in Creative Writing  Winter residency.  After the reading, held at the "Downtown Hilton" in Lexington, Kentucky, someone in the audience asked Cecilia if she keeps a strict writing schedule.  She answered that although a set schedule doesn't work for her, she makes sure to write every day.  That way, she explained, if something is bubbling up in her subconscious that wants to be written, she is present, and able to access it.  She called this "keeping the channel open," a phrase that comes from the following Martha Graham quote:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.”


This is my New Years' resolution: to keep the channel open.  Whatever that might mean.  It should be an interesting year!