How does embodiment cultivate greater spiritual and artistic attention? What role do the senses play in helping us engage with art—our own and that of others?
These are the questions we meandered through during this Sensory Series conversation.
I’ve known Michael Wright for a very long time, but in recent years, we’ve been circling similar ideas on the internet: spirituality, art, poetry, embodiment, creativity, attention. His Still Life weekly letter is one of my very favorite emails to receive.
It was sheer joy to sit down and talk with him for 45(ish) minutes about all of the topics above and more. We both shared poems we love, we talked about his work with the Still Life letters, and we shared about artists and practices that return us to a generous and attentive posture toward the world.
This such a rich conversation, and I think you’ll love it.
More About Michael:
Michael Wright is a writer and educator interested in whatever helps rehumanize the world. He studied art at a seminary, taught humanities courses, worked in a gallery in LA, and he now helps researchers turn their work into online courses and workshops.
In 2018, he started Still Life, a weekly letter for the human spirit. In it he gathers poetry, art, spiritual ideas, and more to help his readers stay grounded and curious in the world.
He's a southerner living in Minneapolis with his lovely wife Lindsey and their two cats, a garden, and too many books. Subscribe to his newsletter here:
And the poem you hear me read near the beginning of the conversation? That comes from Julie Sumner, whose recent collection Meridian was awarded a prize and publication by Jane Hirshfield.
This post is part of a series on the body and the five senses, in conjunction with a book-length project I’m working on. You can view the rest of the interviews here.
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Sensory Series: Michael Wright