Smack Dab in the Fires of Imagination by Dia Calhoun

Here in the dark Pacific Northwest winter, I long for color. January’s gemstone is the welcome fiery red of the garnet. For me, this winter hasn’t been a time of stillness and sleep. Living in a rural area, in the isolation of covid, and in the dark days of winter have turned my energy inward. Energy usually spent dealing with the outer world has to go somewhere. I’ve had a flare of creativity on the second draft of a book I’ve been working on--on-again-off-again--for the past two years. Think writing from the deep places. Think fiery red fissures in the earth. Think Persephone in the underworld. 

Garnet, from the Latin “granatus" means a grain or seed, which may relate to the pomegranate. The deep red of the garnet resonates with the heart, blood, and according to some sources, wounds and sacrifice. In older versions of the myth, Persephone chose the descent. I'm not sure I have, but I'm grateful to have been swept somehow down in the red heat of descent. I'm writing with more passion than I've felt in some time. And I'm writing fearlessly. 

Long may the creative flare last—or at least until I bring this book back up from the underworld with the daffodils of spring. Look for me then.