The Work of Childhood

The Work of Childhood

Creating work for children is a service industry, and those of us who do this work have a sacred calling. It's time to recalibrate our approach. This article and its audio are part of my new and growing Substack, Vesperisms. I hope you’ll become a subscriber today! https://vesperisms.substack.com Get full access to Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself at vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe [https://vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Vesperisms S3E3: Historical Rhymes

Why do we often feel like we're living through something that's happened before? How can we deal with our fear of repeating the past? The answer can be found in understanding history's rhymes. The reasons we recognize these rhymes are: 1. Human Nature 2. Fear 3. Dehumanization & Displaced Blame We can judge the rhyme by asking: 1. Is this genuinely rising from the populace or being dictated top down by institutional power? 2. Does this movement promote nonviolence or violence? 3. Do the institutions respond to nonviolence with violence in any form? And we can control our response to historical rhyme by asking: 1. What is making me anxious and fearful? Where did it come from? 2. Did it happen to you or to an abstract collective? 3. Where am I getting the information that is making me feel this way? * For a rare opportunity to dive deep into Vesper’s books, live with the author, register now for the new VESPERiSMS BOOK CLUB at https://www.vesperillustration.com/bookclubpromo [https://www.vesperillustration.com/bookclubpromo/]! Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself is the podcast to help you make sense of your place in this crazy world by reclaiming an artistic worldview. Everything around us is trying to push us into boxes, but that's not how artists' minds work. Let's get off that detour and back on the main road to thinking for ourselves: as artists. * BERLINERS [https://www.amazon.com/Berliners-Vesper-Stamper/dp/0593428366] is coming, Fall 2022 from Knopf! Pre-order your copy now [https://www.amazon.com/Berliners-Vesper-Stamper/dp/0593428366]! My other books, including What the Night Sings, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524700416] and A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice [https://bookshop.org/books/a-most-clever-girl-how-jane-austen-discovered-her-voice/9781547601103], can be found at any bookseller—I recommend your local indie bookstore, who would love your support. * Follow me on Instagram @vesperillustration [https://instagram.com/vesperillustration], and support Vesperisms on Patreon [https://patreon.com/vesperisms]! * Music for Vesperisms is provided by Ben + Vesper [https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Qq4Kw1pec9GFrfuImHO86?si=psMcaDB3SzKhkZTpBs_dBg]. Get full access to Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself at vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe [https://vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Vesperisms S3E2: Manifesting Your Mess

Not to throw shade on digital art forms, but we need to step back and think about why we as artists do what we do, and the importance of making a mess of it. * Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself is the podcast to help you make sense of your place in this crazy world by reclaiming an artistic worldview. Everything around us is trying to push us into boxes, but that's not how artists' minds work. Let's get off that detour and back on the main road to thinking for ourselves: as artists. * BERLINERS is coming, Fall 2022 from Knopf! Stay tuned for pre-orders coming soon. My other books, including What the Night Sings, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524700416] and A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice [https://bookshop.org/books/a-most-clever-girl-how-jane-austen-discovered-her-voice/9781547601103], can be found at any bookseller—I recommend your local indie bookstore, who would love your support. * Follow me on Instagram @vesperillustration [https://instagram.com/vesperillustration], and support Vesperisms on Patreon [https://patreon.com/vesperisms]! * Music for Vesperisms is provided by Ben + Vesper [https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Qq4Kw1pec9GFrfuImHO86?si=psMcaDB3SzKhkZTpBs_dBg]. Get full access to Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself at vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe [https://vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Vesperisms S3E1: A Podcast Update

Vesperisms is back with Season 3! Here I explain my hiatus, what's ahead, and the need for artistic independence moving forward. * Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself is the podcast to help you make sense of your place in this crazy world by reclaiming an artistic worldview. Everything around us is trying to push us into boxes, but that's not how artists' minds work. Let's get off that detour and back on the main road to thinking for ourselves: as artists. * BERLINERS is coming, Fall 2022 from Knopf! Stay tuned for pre-orders coming soon. My other books, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524700416] and A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice [https://bookshop.org/books/a-most-clever-girl-how-jane-austen-discovered-her-voice/9781547601103], can be found at any bookseller—I recommend your local indie bookstore, who would love your support. * Follow me on Instagram @vesperillustration [https://instagram.com/vesperillustration], and support Vesperisms on Patreon [https://patreon.com/vesperisms]! * Music for Vesperisms is provided by Ben + Vesper [https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Qq4Kw1pec9GFrfuImHO86?si=psMcaDB3SzKhkZTpBs_dBg]. Get full access to Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself at vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe [https://vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Vesperisms S2E8: The Big Truth & The Little Prince, with Ora Itkin

As part of this series on Censorship, here is an interview I did with musician, piano professor and all-around bright light Ora Itkin. We discuss The Little Prince, the primacy of story, and the importance of underground artists, especially for Ora as someone who left the former Soviet Union at its collapse. Follow her on her channel, Open Space with Ora: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekFKRxbOLydvhVCiMvC9vQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekFKRxbOLydvhVCiMvC9vQ] Get full access to Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself at vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe [https://vesperisms.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]