Natalie Goldberg “Writing Down The Bones” AD 240

Natalie Goldberg is the author of fifteen books, including Writing Down the Bones (Shambhala, 1986), which has sold over one million copies, has been translated into fourteen languages, and started a revolution in the way we practice writing in this country.
She recently co-edited a collection of talks by revered zen teacher Katherine Thanas, The Truth of This Life (Shambhala, 2018). In her latest memoir Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home (Shambhala, 2018), she shares her experience with cancer grounded in her practice of zen and writing. Her other books include The Great Spring: Writing, Zen, and This Zigzag Life (Shambhala, 2016), the novel Banana Rose (Bantam, 1995), and the beloved Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America, a memoir about her zen teacher Katagiri Roshi.
Natalie is also a prolific painter. Her book Living Color: Painting, Writing, and the Bones of Seeing (Abrams, 2014), describes painting as her second art form. Top of My Lungs (Overlook Press, 2004) contains forty poems, twenty of her paintings in color, and an essay, “How Poetry Saved My Life.” Natalie’s paintings are available to view on this website.
For more than forty years Natalie has practiced zen and taught seminars in writing as a practice. People from around the world attend her life-changing workshops, and she has earned a reputation as a great teacher. The Oprah Winfrey Show sent a film crew to spend the day with Natalie for a segment on Spirituality that covered her writing, teaching, painting, and walking meditation. She lives in Northern New Mexico.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
Natalie’s first book, “Chicken and In Love” (1979)
Being afraid of both success and failure before her book, “Writing Down The Bones,” came out in 1986
Having thin values
“I shop therefore I am.” - Barbara Kruger
Consuming vs. finding meaning
Natalie writing two books while undergoing treatment for cancer
Accepting suffering
Thinking about one’s legacy
Zen Buddhism
“Writing closes the gap between who you think you are and who you are.” - Natalie Goldberg
What writing has revealed to Natalie
“Make this moment an occasion to live deeply, happily in peace.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
Managing discursive thoughts
The pros and cons of the advent of the interview
The art of haiku writing
People Mentioned:
Margaret Atwood (Writer)
Amy Tan (Writer)
Katagiri Roshi (Sōtō Zen Priest and Teacher)
Lidia Yuknavitch (Writer)
Barbara Kruger (Artist)
Joan Didion (Writer)
Viktor Frankl (Neurologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher, Writer)
Carson McCullers (Writer)
Thich Nhat Hanh (Monk)
Masaoka Shiki (Poet)
Books Mentioned That Natalie Goldberg Wrote:
Chicken and In Love
Writing Down The Bones
Let The Whole Thundering World Come Home
The Great Spring
The True Secret of Writing
Three Simple Lines
Books Mentioned:
The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
Man’s Search For Meaning (Viktor Frankl)
The Ballad of the Sad Café (Carson McCullers)
2030 (Mauro F. Guillén)
www.nataliegol...
Artist Decoded Patreon: / artistdecoded
Originally Posted 7.20.2022

[@rebeccastoops]

Writing Down the Bones is still such a big deal in my life, I discovered it in my 20s and I’m now in my 40s. I still use it for writing practice! Thank you, Natalie!

[@ayg319]

Deeply grounding interview. Thank you both of you.

[@deftdelivery]

Book altered my trajectory.