This one word will change everything
It is from the 1300s and is destined to be your new favorite
Hey you rovers on the sunny side of the street,
How’s the weather where you are?
I heard a new word and now I can’t recall where I first learned it. Could have been Twitter. Could have been at that Chelsea cocktail party I attended where the guy next to me told me all about meeting Milan Kundera a couple times and how pleasant his wife Vera was; might have been during the crazy Electric Lit Masquerade of the Red Death…
(note to party organizers: if you make everyone wear red, don’t bathe the place in red light or it looks like everyone’s wearing white)
(it was a fun party)
(I love dancing)
(too loud to talk though)
Okay. Halloweekend is pretty much over - though I still have one more literary costume party to attend. I kind of have an endless supply of energy for costume parties.
Tuesday, I’ll be handing out candy and enjoying the kid-costumes in my building.
Oh. Right!
The new (old) word!!
The OED (I love fat books) lists the word as both a noun and a verb. It means:
THE RETURN OF HOPE AFTER A PERIOD OF DESPAIR.
The word was first used in 1300s and then last used in 1425.
We need this word.
The word is “respair.”
Feel free to use it in your own sentence in the comments.
RESPAIR:
The clever marshmallow art project gave the class a feeling of renewal and respair.
Here’s the entire etymology article (it’s a fun read) from 2020. The best way to think of it is that the root part, “spair” is probably akin to “spirit” - so if de-spair is a loss of spiritual happiness, re-spair is the renewal of your spirit, whether that is artistic, creative, religious, meditative, character-building, or any other way that one’s self can feel a renewed sense of solidity.
We want to look inside ourselves and find solid, glorious, glittery/shiny, immutable rock — not a swamp — and at all cost we should avoid a void. So here’s to respair!
WRITING NEWS:
I had a terrific time at Amy Grech’s book launch at Sasha Miller’s Ghost Stories by the Fire. The only awkward moment was when I realized (about two storytellers in) that the stories people were telling were all true stories of them experiencing the paranormal. Turns out Sasha is a medium!
My story, of possible demonic possession of a child, set in a B&B in upstate New York was (unsurprisingly) terrifying in this context.
This just in! I was just invited to give an interview on Diva Hustle Radio! That seems rather appropriate, no? Show will tape in mid-November!
Oh and people, I have good news, I wrote a brand new story this week. Let’s just take a deep breath and read that sentence again. I wrote a new story. Whew.
(no telling if it is good or bad yet, but at least it is written and new)
BOOK IN THE WILD:
November is almost here - but first, there’s actual Halloween! Tuesday will be fun. The whole weekend has been fun, awhirl in old friends and lots and lots of great costumes. Thanks to all of you who had something to say last week and who said it kindly and quickly and with great compassion. (insert emoji hearts)
RANDOM FINAL THOUGHT:
I can’t believe there was only one PumpKEN at the pumpkin carving contest I attended on Saturday:
Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!! I’m looking forward to seeing the joy on the littlest trick-and-treaters who have just comprehended that on this topsy-turvy day, strangers give them candy; being anything but ordinary is welcome; and scary things are a pleasure.
If you do happen to fall into despair, I hope that you also unearth some joy that helps you soar into respair.
Love that word!!
Respair, Respair! And that exquisite photo should be on your next book cover, album cover - everything!