Who I am.

I write about the landscape of grief, nature, and the wisdom of fools. The author of four books, my essays, poems, and reviews have been published in over 50 journals, including in the Huffington Post and Colorado Review. I’ve won the River Teeth Nonfiction Book Award, the Chautauqua and Literal Latte’s essay prizes, and my work has been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes and named a notable by Best American Essays. My account of hiking in Yosemite to deal with my wife’s death, Mountains of Light, was published by the University of Nebraska Press. http://www.markliebenow.com.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Writing a Requiem: Liturgizing Grief


Journal entry 7

Thoughts of writing a requiem for Evelyn resurface. I pushed them away earlier because I heard that the stress of composing a requiem after his father’s death is what some think did Mozart in, trying to express the depths of grief and comprehend why the loss was so devastating.

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2 comments:

  1. The music--always the music brings us back and winds through life and death.
    Your words bring comfort. I love Faure's Requiem which I hear only fragments of now in my head.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jo. Every time I listen to Faure, he stirs the pot of emotions, but in a good way, I think. But music is such a mixed bag. Instrumental music has been the best because it encourages me to reflect on things. But some music with lyrics, especially favorite songs, still tears me up and brings back some of the chaos and despair that I thought I'd moved past. Music is powerful.

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