Art Saves Lives
An essay series curated by Seema Reza & edited by Ben Weakley.
Introduction by Seema Reza
I begin writing workshops with new groups of people by saying “Writing has saved my life. It continues to save my life on a regular basis.” I say it because it’s true. I say it because the best way to help people feel comfortable about being vulnerable is by modeling it. And mostly, I say it because it calms my own nerves to admit right up front that I am still working on saving my own life. It reminds me that this work, this moment, the act of writing is sacred. The stakes are high.
In the space after I say it, the room leans in. People who have been stifled by the pressure to pretend they are perfect are able to relax into the hard work at hand. People who are skeptical that someone like me, who gets to sit at the head of the table, could possibly get it trust me a little bit more.
I hope that this series of essays will give the writers of each piece the opportunity to reflect on the sacred act of art making and allow readers to feel seen and safe to reach further inside of themselves in their own art making practice.
Digital Exhibit is Live!
Explore an extraordinary collection of artworks from our CBAW community, now available in our online gallery. This special exhibit features pieces selected from our 2024 Open Submissions period, showcasing the incredible talent and artistry of our community. We are deeply grateful to every artist who submitted work—you inspire us!
Art Saves Lives essays are listed below in order from the most recent to the oldest post.
Art Saves Lives: I Write by Steve Watson
Confiding to the impartial, sympathetic page paved the way for me to accept myself and finally reveal to my friends and family who I really am and begin to live my best honest life.I write. I write because I want to write; I write because I need to write. I write even...
Art Saves Lives: From Viewing To Creating, From Healing To Thriving by Susan Niemi
In this hybrid essay, Susan Niemi writes with specificity, clarity, and the clear eye of a survivor who knows how much work it takes to forge a path forward again and again. Studded with lines of her own poetry, this essay is a meditation on using creativity...
Art Saves Lives: Bringing Our Light into the Dark by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
I sat cross-legged on a curb in the middle of New Jersey in the middle of the 1970s and wrote a poem about despair. I was fourteen, it was humid and windless, and I was waiting outside my father’s girlfriend’s apartment to go home where my father and I had barricaded...
Art Saves Lives: On Poetry and Community by Carla R. Sameth
Usually, I am one to find the thread of dark humor even in the worst of circumstances. But I found myself at a loss. I had been increasingly depressed and anxious since a confluence of world and family events descended, including family deaths and friends’ severe...