
February—with its red roses, love notes, and cheeky candy hearts—indulges our obsessions. Romantic, plutonic, drool-worthy, or a little silly, this is the month we are allowed to give ourselves over to guilty pleasures, profess our love, and get googly-eyed over people or objects we adore. Since we believe that inspiration comes in many forms, at PWN we are all for it! We think that relishing in the senses of these obsessions—sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch—can stimulate your creativity!
Our passions may vary, but one thing we are all obsessed with this month is CringeFest III, an evening during which adult writers share mortifying stories in front of a live audience to raise money to support our community outreach programs.
This month, we asked our courageous CringeFest III participants to tell us what sends their hearts aflutter (other than the prospect of sharing their most embarrassing moments in front of a crowd, of course).
February 2020:
What we’re reading …
“‘The Grief of Others,’ by Leah Hager Cohen, is one of the best books I’ve ever read,” said Nancy Francese. “The writing blew me away, and although the story is based around the death of a couple’s baby, the book is not centered on that, but more so how the family did or did not put their lives back together. I underlined and tagged so many pages because the depth of her reflection, her metaphors and similes were like delicious pieces of candy.”
Listening to …
“I am currently back in the RENT zone by listening to the soundtrack in anticipation of the performance this week at the Count Basie Theatre,” Mary Wyman shared. We think taking advantage of local theater is a great way to inspire our writing!
Watching …
Herman Lentz is inspired by “the new season of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm. I humble myself at the brilliance of Larry David. LD is part of my Comedy Trinity, which also consists of (a young) Woody Allen and Mel Brooks.”
Eating …
“Roasted brussels sprouts with smoked paprika—the pre-cut sprouts from Acme are essential to this dish,” said Shanda McManus. Gotta love delicious, healthy, and easy!
Miscellaneous …
In addition to going outside her comfort zone by performing at CringeFest III, Monica Martucci is “buying lots of skull necklaces and trying my hand at sewing. Also super obsessed with tattoos.”