Cleaver newsletter editor Layla Murphy is an Iranian-American writer—when she’s not being a refugee resettlement case manager, a restaurant host, or a Spanish tutor, that is. While a student at the University of Pennsylvania, she co-founded Quake Magazine, a publication dedicated to exploring sex and sexuality through art. Read her essays and poetry on a personal blog: aslongastherearepoppies.wordpress.com. Got a Writing Tip for our newsletter and feature? Email her at [email protected].
IN A WRITING RUT? TRY FREE ASSOCIATING: A Writing Tip by Layla Murphy
A Writing Tip by Layla Murphy IN A WRITING RUT? TRY FREE ASSOCIATING Estimated reading time: 7 minutes The idea that psychoanalysis and the art of writing have significant common ground is not revolutionary. What is explored, what can be learned, what challenges must be faced—in writing as in psychotherapy, the answer can be found in the complex emotional fabric of a human life. For that reason, we can easily apply the techniques used in one of these fields to aid our struggles in the other. Free association was a therapeutic tool developed by Freud which consisted of the patient ...
HATE CHRISTMAS, YOU’RE ALLOWED: A Writing Prompt by Layla Murphy
A Writing Prompt by Layla Murphy
Hate Christmas, You're Allowed Estimated reading time: 2 minutes Bah humbug—this again! Christmas is right around the corner, and whether you celebrate it or not, you've surely got some holiday sensory-overload by now. I thought we should turn things topsy-turvy by taking a page from David Byrne’s Christmas playlist, which showcases such hits as “Christmas Will Break Your Heart” by LCD Soundsystem and “Another Lonely Christmas” by Prince. So, put down that eggnog and join us in some healthy holiday crankiness as we channel our humbug into our writing… Ready? Let’s get scroogey! For a ...
Hate Christmas, You're Allowed Estimated reading time: 2 minutes Bah humbug—this again! Christmas is right around the corner, and whether you celebrate it or not, you've surely got some holiday sensory-overload by now. I thought we should turn things topsy-turvy by taking a page from David Byrne’s Christmas playlist, which showcases such hits as “Christmas Will Break Your Heart” by LCD Soundsystem and “Another Lonely Christmas” by Prince. So, put down that eggnog and join us in some healthy holiday crankiness as we channel our humbug into our writing… Ready? Let’s get scroogey! For a ...
WRITE LIKE YOU’RE DYING: A Writing Tip by Layla Murphy
A Writing Tip by Layla Murphy
WRITE LIKE YOU'RE DYING Estimated reading time: 5 minutes I never knew what a death doula was until I listened to an episode of NPR’s Life Kit the other day focused on relationship repair. It seemed odd at first that a podcast episode on relationship repair—presumably with other, living, people—would include a segment on death. But the relationship to be repaired by these end-of-life caregivers is our relationship with death itself. Death is scary. It’s taboo. It’s uncomfortable, and it’s painful. And, I think engaging meaningfully with death would make us all better writers. In ...
WRITE LIKE YOU'RE DYING Estimated reading time: 5 minutes I never knew what a death doula was until I listened to an episode of NPR’s Life Kit the other day focused on relationship repair. It seemed odd at first that a podcast episode on relationship repair—presumably with other, living, people—would include a segment on death. But the relationship to be repaired by these end-of-life caregivers is our relationship with death itself. Death is scary. It’s taboo. It’s uncomfortable, and it’s painful. And, I think engaging meaningfully with death would make us all better writers. In ...