Read, Write, and Pray with The Book of Delights by Ross Gay: Part One
Our Faith in Writing’s Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights series uses themes and excerpts from Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights. I have not worked with Ross Gay on this series, and I don’t pretend to know anything about his faith. I just like his book and want to invite others to explore it in meaningful ways.
It’s not necessary to have a copy of The Book of Delights to complete these exercises and prompts, but you should definitely buy a copy here!
I hope this Read, Write, & Pray series helps you make space to notice God’s presence in your life and creative work. I hope it gives you opportunities to discover how making and engaging with art help you belong to yourself, others, God, and the world.
Read
Loitering Is Delightful at The Paris Review
I have a fiscal relationship with this establishment, which I developed by buying a coffee and which makes me a patron. And so even though I subtly dozed in the late afternoon sun pouring in under the awning, the two bucks spent protects me, at least temporarily, from the designation of loiterer, though the dozing, if done long enough, or ostentatiously enough, or with enough delight, might transgress me over.
Write
Ross Gay said this in a 2019 interview about his writing process for The Book of Delights:
“This last book of essays, I gave myself the task to write a short essay every day for a year about something that delighted me, that’s kind of what the book is. I had a task, and the task was to take 30 minutes to draft the essay. It wasn’t like “20 minutes at night every night,” I would get it in whatever time. That was the most regimented I’ve been for a while. I was usually kind of feeling around for it [the object of delight].”
Take Ross Gay’s lead and take 30 minutes to draft a new short essay, poem, or story about something that delights you. Do this every day for at least seven days.
Pray
I love how Ross Gay pays attention to his life, his circumstances, and world around him. I think people of faith can learn a lot from Gay’s ability to pay attention. We are able to notice God more easily when we are able to notice other thing.
Receive these words inspired by a short passage in Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s The Sacrament of the Present Moment as a prayer that moves you to pay attention to your life, your circumstances, and the world around you. Receive them as a prayer that encourages you to notice God’s presence in all things.
You are seeking God, and God is everywhere. Everything proclaims God to you, everything reveals God to you, everything brings God to you. God is by your side, over you, around and in you.
I hope you enjoy this free resource for Read, Write, and Pray with The Book of Delights.
Additional free resources can be found here:
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights Part One
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights Part Two
Read, Write, & Pray with The Book of Delights Part Three
Read, Write & Pray with The Book of Delights Part Four
Read, Write & Pray with The Great Belonging
Read, Write, & Pray with The Great Belonging Part One
Read, Write, & Pray with The Great Belonging Part Two
Charlotte Donlon helps her readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder of Spiritual Direction for Writers™ and Parenting with Art™. She is also the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Seattle Pacific University where she studied creative nonfiction with Paula Huston and Lauren F. Winner. She holds a certificate in spiritual direction from Selah Center for Spiritual Formation. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. To receive Charlotte’s latest updates, news, announcements, and other good things, subscribe to her email newsletter.