Conversations with Calliope- Rocking the Boat

(With Carol in the Monastery Garden)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Back on my feet. I'm caught up with my correspondence and ready to get back into the groove.
CALLIOPE: You mentioned in passing yesterday that you had written some seditious pieces. I don't recall discussing this with you before you. Could you elaborate?
JOE: Toward the end of my monastic days, I started putting my thoughts on paper regarding reservations about the direction my religious order was taking.
CALLIOPE: Was that so bad?
JOE: I suppose not. My indiscretion was in circulating my writing which eventually fell into disapproving hands.
CALLIOPE: I see. And that led to your being kicked out?
JOE: Not directly. I was given a warning and put on probation due to my views.
CALLIOPE: How did you deal with that?
JOE: I wasn't quite ready to leave so I backed off for a while. I did not stop writing but tried to be more careful about who I let see my writing.
CALLIOPE: Whose decision was it for you to leave in the end?
JOE: I made the decision, but under duress and with a feeling of relief on the part of my superiors.
CALLIOPE: Did your recent monastery visit give you any further perspective on your decision to leave?
JOE: I realize I made the right decision. I think I have a better understanding of the various points of view prevalent at the time and that mine was not shared by the powers that be. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Tumblers- New Orleans)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. The sun's out and it's warming up.
CALLIOPE: Enjoy it. You mentioned working on a new column a couple days ago. How is that coming?
JOE: Done. I wrote it about Russ's eightieth birthday party and how I wish everyone in the world could get along the way people did at his party.
CALLIOPE: That would be nice. Do you think it's possible?
JOE: Possible- yes. Likely- realistically I'm not so sure. It seems people have been at each other's throats since Cain and Abel. We don't seem to have the patience as humans to cooperate with each other.
CALLIOPE: Humans don't seem to get it.
JOE: I can't argue with you there. It seems like we can get along for a while, at least some of us can. Then we dissolve into conflict. Having our own way seems to trump living with each other in peace.
CALLIOPE: So what's the answer?
JOE: I wish I knew. I have been searching for it as long as I have been writing. There probably isn't one answer or someone would have discovered it by now. The answer doesn't seem to lie in logic, emotion or belief. I don't know what's left.
CALLIOPE: How about the arts?
JOE: Maybe there's a better chance there. But the arts sometimes express and even incite conflict.
CALLIOPE: I can't argue with you there.
JOE: Maybe peace is the ultimate challenge for humans and it will only result from our combined efforts on all fronts. We shall see. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I thought you might not show up today.
JOE: Please have more faith. I got involved in various activities this morning and am finally getting to you.
CALLIOPE: What have you been up to?
JOE: I prepared and mailed out a copy of The Pastor's Inferno to a friend who agreed to do a review.
CALLIOPE: Professional or ordinary reader.
JOE: Professional. She teaches comparative religion.
CALLIOPE: What else have you been up to?
JOE: I assembled my materials for an art course I am starting on Monday.
CALLIOPE: Oh?
JOE: I guess I didn't tell you. A friend invited me to take a watercolor landscape painting course with her. I thought it would be fun since I have never had any formal art training but enjoy dabbling with painting and drawing. I'm looking forward to it.
CALLIOPE: Any work on Marital Property?
JOE: Yes. I made a list of characteristics of both major characters concentrating on parts of their personalities would clash. These will come into play in the crisis. I am working on a situation which will bring out the worst in each to see how they handle it.
CALLIOPE: Is it ready to write?
JOE: Almost. I still have to work out some details, but expect to have it written this weekend. I'll let you know how it's coming tomorrow.

(Storm clouds in the Rocky Mountains)

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you this morning?
JOE: Well, but I don't feel too ambitious. I am having a hard time getting started this morning.
CALLIOPE: Any particular reason?
JOE: None that I can think of. I guess I am just in a lazy mood.
CALLIOPE: What do you think you can find to motivate you?
JOE: Let me look at the writing quotes I found yesterday. Hmmm...Here's something by Isaac Bashevis Singer, "Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper."
CALLIOPE: How does that apply to how you are feeling right now?
JOE: I want to get on with my novel, Marital Property, but am at a crossroads.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: I am nearing the end of the story. Although my couple has made good progress, I feel there is a need for a crisis to test how far they have come and I am having difficulty thinking of one.
CALLIOPE: Where do you think you might look?
JOE: I started this project by defining the traits of my characters. Part of what I discovered was each of their weaknesses and blind spots. I think a good crisis would plunge both of them into their worst fears about themselves and each other.
CALLIOPE: Excellent. Does that give you some ideas?
JOE: Yes. I will go back to my initial character descriptions and find out what kind of a conflict would hit both of them between the eyes. I'd better get going while I have the momentum.

(Rocky Mountains- Colorado)