by Elizabeth Cunningham
Taos honors writer Natalie Goldberg this weekend. Friday afternoon, in recognition of her far-reaching influence on the creative arts in Taos, Mayor Dan Barrone will declare February 19 2016 “Natalie Goldberg Day.” For the occasion Natalie will read from two of her newly released books. On Saturday the Mabel Dodge Luhan House will host two events sponsored by SOMOS (the Society of the Muse in the Southwest). In the morning long-standing writing students and friends will present stories and anecdotes on how Writing Down the Bones affected them. In the afternoon Natalie will teach a workshop (advance registration required).
This month Shambala Publications issued Natalie’s newest book, The Great Spring: Writing, Zen and This Zigzag Life. In this volume she focuses on the meaning of her long writing life. In twenty-two essays, drawing on years of writing, teaching and practicing Zen, Natalie shares experiences that opened her to new ways of being fully alive.
Concurrently the publishing house brought out a special 30-year-anniversary edition of Writing Down the Bones. This landmark book revolutionized the practice of writing. Through it Natalie inspired millions to take up the pen. Writing Down the Bones broke open the world of creativity for beginning and seasoned writers all over the world. The book has remained in print since its publication in 1986. (Sales exceeded one million; the book has been translated into fourteen languages.)
In a new preface, Natalie discusses the enduring quality of teachings in the book. The practice provided the foundation to sustain and build her writing voice. “[It] keeps me honest, teaches me how to endure the hard times and how to drop below discursive thinking, to taste the real meat of our minds and the life around us.”
Natalie’s writing method evolved from studies with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Besides poetic form, he taught the examination of thoughts in writing. Wanting to understand the mind in the context of writing, Natalie started something new:
I started to write and time myself and keep my hand moving. I explored the vast space of what was possible on the page – where my mind traveled, backward, forward, upside down. I watched how I thought. I came into some kind of intimate relationship with myself.
Following Natalie’s private classes with a group of Taos women in the early 1970s, she combined writing practice with Zen. In her studies with Japanese Zen master Dainin Katagiri Roshi in Minneapolis (1978-1984), Natalie saw correlations between writing and the 2000-year-old Zen practice of watching the mind. Ever since publishing Writing Down the Bones, she has taught writing as a spiritual practice both nationally and locally. She focused on helping people understand both the process of writing and the movements of the mind. By 1990 Natalie was an established workshop leader at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. Over the next twenty-some years she mentored numerous beginning and seasoned writers. We at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House join her students and friends today in expressions of gratitude.
Thank you, Natalie!