In honour of April being National Poetry Month in the United States, Substack kindly asked me to launch my work on their site. The idea had a very fortunate beginning, initiated as it was by a chance meeting with a Substack executive one morning in my favourite coffee bar in Nosara, Costa Rica, where my eyes were opened by her enthusiasm, and by the possibility of a dedicated, in-depth following of my work all delivered in a very elegantly designed package. So three months later: Substack, here we are…
I will make old work, new work, and work in the midst of progress available to subscribers combined with my accompanying photography, as well as new short videos and audio. The whole should create an intimate way for people to deepen their relationship with my work, my thoughts, and with good fortune, my continued evolution.
A big thank you to Patricia Ackerman for artwork and to Angela Cummings for designing, and then curating with me, this very exciting new endeavour.
-David Whyte
START CLOSE IN Start close in, don't take the second step or the third, start with the first thing close in, the step you don't want to take. Start with the ground you know, the pale ground beneath your feet, your own way to begin the conversation. Start with your own question, give up on other people's questions, don't let them smother something simple. -excerpt from START CLOSE IN from David Whyte: Essentials.
Hi there David. It was me you met at Olo Alaia (I'm sitting above the coffee shop right now). It's wonderful to see you on Substack. Thank you for asking about my life and being so generous. I hope to see you in the same coffee shop soon!
Hi David, I remember hosting you as a speaker at the Inside Edge back in the 90's. You were so kind with your letter to me when my husband Paul von Welanetz passed. I have followed you all these many years.