In Verses & Song

  Hope Born On Christmas Morn  a poem for the season by Stacie Eirich   I loved sending out Christmas cards to my worldwide fellow Stay-at-Homie singers this year! I added hand-written poems that I hope brought them joy in darkness, as singing and connecting in our choral community has brought to me throughout 2020. In a year that could have been silent and dismal, connecting and singing with the Stay at Home Choir, the Self-Isolation Choir, and the Chorus of Opera North have all been bright lights. I'm thankful for these opportunities to continue singing, and grateful to have so many new friends.  From my home to yours, I wish you a🎄Merry Christmas! Yes, it is different this year - but we have so much to look forward to. We'll be together, stronger and brighter and more beautiful than we knew we could be in 2021. Hope was born on Christmas Day, and Joy will dawn with the New Year!  Be safe and well this Christmas; may 2021 bring us together again.  Listen...

In a year of challenges, isolation and great sadness...I have also found joy. Yesterday evening, I joined The Stay at Home Choir, performers and artists across the globe to celebrate that joy, in Live with Carnegie Hall: Global Ode to Joy .  A concert that was born from conductor Marin Alsop's idea to turn Beethoven's 250th birthday celebration into a global movement for joy amid a pandemic, it was truly an unforgettable experience that spoke, to me, of our uniquely human emotions, our ability to persevere, and our capacity for joy.  What is joy to me? Joy is nature, joy is poetry, joy is song. Joy is connecting with others.  What I never would've predicted, though, is how a pandemic and months of quarantine and social-distancing could also lead to joy. To real, meaningful connections and artistic creativity, beautiful memories, new friendships and an inspiring movement that I'm so grateful to have been a part of.  Former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith's po...

  "When the writing gets hard, or when it all feels like too much, remember why you write, and that there is value in what you’re doing. Stories matter.  Your  story matters."  -NaNoWriMo 2020 Pep Talk, Alexis Daria   November is National Novel Writing Month, a month when writers around the world commit to writing a 50,000 word novel in the space of one month. I've participated since 2016, and in that space of time, I've completed 4 novellas (3 of them are now published) and drafted the bones for 5 others.  But NaNoWriMo isn't really about word count for me. In fact, in five years of prepping, attending write-ins, soaking in advice from authors and experts - and doing the actual work of writing - I've never reached 50,000 words in any story.  Some writers might argue that this means I've never "won" NaNoWriMo. But I disagree.  I win by showing up. I win by knowing my story matters, and by feeling the value of what I'm doing.   My first N...

Summer is swiftly giving way to fall, and in a year of storms, music and verses have given me solace and hope. At the times I have been too overwhelmed to write this year, the poetry of song has carried me. So today I'm happy to share with you the creative works and supportive people that have lifted me through seasons of uncertainty.  They are the voices and songs of The Stay at Home Choir, a global community of singers formed in quarantine to help musicians continue their craft through lockdown. Open to amateur, student, professional and retired singers alike, ranging from beginners to experts - SAHC has grown into a family of thousands who have formed friendships across the globe while creating beautiful music.  I've been a member of the choir since April, and my SAHC experiences with singers, musicians, and composers around the world have raised me from darkness to light, doubt to hope - and brought words back to my pen when it had fallen silent. To founders Tori Longdon ...

Dear Readers,  I'm happy to announce that a few of my newest poems can be found in The Auroras & Blossoms  NaPoWriMo Anthology, 2020 Edition! Available June 23, 2020 -  this is a digital publication that  features uplifting verses from poets worldwide. See the description & click on the link below to start reading today.  Thank you for your continuing support of my poetry, stories and novellas, and for visiting my Author Blog. Have a wonderful day; be safe & well.  -Stacie   The Auroras & Blossoms NaPoWriMo Anthology, 2020 Edition Welcome to a collection of stunning and moving inspirational poetry written throughout National Poetry Writing Month in April 2020. Come on a journey with us as we explore the works of many diverse and talented poets who each know how to write uplifting words to stimulate our senses and make us feel better about ourselves. Contributors to  The Auroras & Blossoms NaPoW...

Soon after my last blog-post in March, life turned upside down with the onset of a worldwide pandemic. My family has been lucky; we are safe, well - and navigating our days at home as best we can. A typical day for us includes morning cleanup & chores, reading, homeschooling, and plenty of time spent outdoors on sunny days. We, like many other families, have cleaned out our closets, baked and played board games, and taken bike rides together. We've made crafts and talked to friends and cousins over Zoom, built Legos and watched movies together. In seven weeks, we've done more together than in many months time . Have we also yelled, cried and had moments where we needed to be alone in our bedrooms, or to go on a solo bike ride? Absolutely!  And I think that's OK. What matters is we are making it through; we are able to find the sunshine in each day, and still look up at the stars each night. We are safe, we are well - and we are in this together.  ...

Spring is, without a doubt, my most favorite season of the year. A time of blossoms and light - cool,  refreshing rains and fresh greenery - nature has a way of finding itself at the forefront of my writing in springtime. In fact, I wrote and published an entire book of poetry on the subject in 2016. This spring, I'm busy writing several prose works-in-progress. But I can't ever stay away from poetry for long, especially during the season that I find most inspiring for verse. So I'll be participating in National Poetry Month in April again this year, writing a new series of poems while reading and supporting other poets. Offline, I'll be celebrating my birthday along with my daughter's birthday, attending numerous spring activities for my children and seasonal festivals, and preparing for the end of the school term in May. For me, this means organizing my time so that writing is prioritized before breaking from it for a different summer schedule in June & ...

Happy 2020 Readers! I'm starting the New Year off with a New Novel. A fantasy with action, magic & romance - it's the story I've been wanting to write for a long time.  Is adding it to my other works-in-progress a bit crazy? Probably. But in order to follow my passion of a 'writing life' - I'm not going to limit my creative ideas.  In other words, I'm saying yes to the Muse! And embracing the phrase "Just Write It."   Thank you for visiting my Author Blog! I hope you'll continue to follow my writing journeys in 2020. Happy New Year! :-) -Stacie