How do we find and maintain a sense of wonder in a world that's become so unpredictable? Katherine May (author of Wintering and The Electricity of Every Living Thing) tackles this pressing question in her latest book, Enchantment, which is “an invitation to each of us to experience life in all its sensual complexity and to find the beauty waiting for us there.”
Calling upon the natural elements—earth, water, fire, and air—Katherine launches a personal and collective investigation into how we can restore ourselves and restoke imagination. Far from prescriptive, Katherine's work always invites readers to follow their curiosities. To slow down and open themselves up to a process of reflection. As she writes in Enchantment: “When we look for enchantment to give us direct, concrete revelations, we miss the point. It is too big for us to swallow all at once. It teaches us in constellations, and invites us to undertake the slow, lifelong work of assimilating a moment.”
In this interview, Katherine shared more about the process of finding Enchantment, musings on motherhood, and what she's learned about living, working, and creating—both online and off. This episode also opens with a story from Jess Dekker.
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Episode Transcript: https://slowstoriespodcast.com/katherine-may/
Learn more about Katherine's work: https://katherine-may.co.uk/
Follow Katherine: https://www.instagram.com/katherinemay_/
Purchase Katherine's books: https://bookshop.org/contributors/katherine-may
Follow Jess: https://www.instagram.com/jessdekkerreads/
Meredith Westgate — ”Being a writer can often be empathy overload.”
Larissa Pham — ”I think everyone woke up to just how impossible it is to survive.”
Jen Spyra — ”How much doubt attends every stage of your writing?”
Melissa Febos and Forsyth Harmon — ”Writing is the very solitary room where I practice articulating things that feel unspeakable.”
Jen Batchelor — ”I take it very seriously when a word gets hijacked out of our vocabulary.”
Suzanne Koven — ”Literature opens the conversation.”
Courtney Marie Andrews — ”Poetry is asking you to get beneath the surface.”
Lesley Thornton — ”My self-care is preparation for community care.”
Dina Nur Satti — ”Art is really asking people to listen to the process.”
Jessica Manning — ”Your vision for your future changes.”
Zak Williams — ”You need to be engaged with your environment and the people around you.”
Deja Foxx — ”We should be making statements about who we are.”
Becky Cooper — ”What is the story that I should be the one to write?”
Nicole Caputo — ”I really see design as a lifestyle.”
Elizabeth Walton Egan — ”Where speed can hurt is when you are out of control.”
Mélanie Masarin — ”You never remember the time you spent on the internet.”
Lindsay Adams — ”Slow storytelling means giving yourself the grace and the space to evolve.”
Orion Carloto — ”Slowing down is the most beautiful thing you can do for yourself.”
Makenna Goodman — ”I do think that we want to escape, but I don’t think we want to flee.”
Taylor Sterling — ”I want to be more empathetic to how I can help versus how people can help me.”
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