Susan Swetnam, Writer

I’m delighted to announce that on September 8, which by coincidence the Catholic church considers to be the Virgin Mary’s birthday, my new book informed by of Marian Renaissance art and reflection will be released. This is the culmination of 20 years of imagining and carrying the idea with me as I lived through successive…

The wonderful process of reading to write:   As I’m preparing to get started on chapter 3 of Everyday Annunciations–the chapter on how people might find a way to reinvent their sense of identity and meaning after great loss—I’ve returned to the considerable literature about growing into one’s true self (as Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, and…

What I’ve Just Finished Writing: This past Friday I completed the full edited draft of Everyday Annunciations’ second body chapter, the one on big, surprising, unwelcome life-changing upheaval.              What hard work that’s been, 7500 words that represent revisiting and thinking in new ways about the toughest parts of my own past, as well…

     I took this weekend off from writing to clear my head (am reliving the years immediately after my husband died as I work on this chapter of Everyday Annunciations, and juggling with so many moving parts in this chapter), and that has proven a very good thing–as well as good timing.   Happily, spring has…

What I’m Writing:  “Turning, turning, will be our delight, ‘till by turning, turning, we come round right” goes the famous Shaker hymn, “Tis a Gift to Be Simple,” and after a challenging, even frustrating week on “Everyday Annunciations” I’m working hard to put my trust in that latter assurance.  The “turning” hasn’t been so much…

What I’m Writing:  So many would-be writers think that writing is primarily about inspiration; if the muse doesn’t show up on a given day, you can’t/shouldn’t write.  All of us who’ve been seriously committed to this craft for the long haul, though, understand that such a philosophy is not just untenable, but wrong.  My own…

What I’m Writing:  Back in graduate school in the spring of my life, my least favorite part of every paper to write was the introductory literature review section, where previous critics’ ideas were summarized. I’d somehow gotten the impression that if your research revealed that somebody else had said something like what you were saying,…

What I’m Writing: Since the good news came, I’ve been digging into the second body chapter of “Everyday Annunciations,” going back to the experience at the heart of this book, the shock of being widowed at 51 and having to figure out a) why I ought even to imagine going on living, and b) what…

What I’m Writing:   I’m so happy to announce that the acquisitions committee at Liturgical Press has looked with favor on the book proposal for “Everyday Annunciations: On Learning to Say Yes,” and I now have an Oct. 15th deadline to deliver the full manuscript for publication.  I’ve been thinking about this one for a decade;…

What I’m Writing: As I’ve been waiting (still) to hear about book proposals currently out, I’ve begun working seriously on a magazine article about everyday, down-to-earth ways to celebrate the themes of Advent’s four candles—a spin-off of a talk I gave last November.  Thus, due to magazine lead time, it’s December in March this week—though…