April Greetings!
Early spring is in full swing here in Memphis. Buds are bursting, fruit trees and dogwoods flowering and the palest of slender green leaves are sprouting above Midtown streets. I’m reminded that change is indeed possible, renewal is inevitable.
As I wrote you last month, my heart is with the people of Ukraine—and with all those suffering around the world. There are many good organizations providing aid—the Ukrainian Red Cross, for example. To donate via the International Red Cross, click HERE.
And now here's a VERY short news update, a poem for April and little wisdom from two great writers.
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CONTENTS of This Newsletter
1. July Songwriting Retreat on Crete
2. Ireland ’22 sold out... and we're now booking 2023
3. Next live show: Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe on May 11
4. TK Poem of the Month: “Where We Love Him”
5. April wisdom for our time (from John Steinbeck and Lewis Carroll)
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1. July Songwriting Retreat on Crete
I’m excited to share that I’ve been invited back to Crete (Greece) to co-lead “Writing from the Inside Out,” a week-long songwriting retreat. Again I’ll team with my talented host and friend Eva Hillered, and we’ll gather with a maximum of 12 participants at Lendas East Hill.
—Eva and her husband Peter have just completed the center, which is on a hillside overlooking the beautiful blue Mediterranean.
What a wonderful opportunity to escape the day-to-day blitz of noise, media and pressing concerns that fill our plates to overflowing. (I’ve SO loved my previous visits and retreats there in Lendas.)
For a description of the workshop and more (including how to register), click HERE.
NOTE: Writers at ALL levels of development are welcome… because we always “start where we are.”
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2. Ireland ’22 sold out... taking 2023 reservations
My Ireland 2022 tour to Counties Mayo, Galway and Clare is sold out…
…and we’re now taking reservations for my 2023 visit to Counties Dublin, Waterford and Clare.
In a nutshell, I’m in love with Ireland's beauty, people and music. I’ve been hosting these tours for the family-owned Inishfree Tours since 2011, and I’ve so missed going during the pandemic.
For info on travel, lodging, cost, how to join a tour, and more:
—Visit my website’s updated Ireland page HERE.
—Visit the Inishfree Tours 2023 Schedule page HERE.
...and click the ENQUIRE button for my tour, and submit the brief form that'll let the tour company know of your interest.
—To contact me directly with a question, email me at ireland(at)tomkimmel(dot)com...and I'll reply asap.
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3. My next live performance...
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 9:00pm
(ITR w/Michael Lille, Don Henry, Dana Cooper & Tom Kimmel)
Bluebird Cafe
4104 Hillsboro Pike
Nashville, TN 37215
—For more info click HERE
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4. TK Poem of the Month
Two weeks ago, after playing a sweet show at the Link Centre in Tupelo, Mississippi, my sisters and I sorted through ten boxes of our late mother’s photos and letters. One of the most surprising finds was a love letter from our dad to our mother when they were dating. Dad wasn’t the most articulate man when it came to showing his feelings, and the letter showed us that we didn’t know him as well as we had imagined.
Where We Love Him
What a challenge he was, our dad
and now he’s gone
we love him (as Faulker said)
not because of, but in spite of.
And truly, in the places
we could not have loved him then
we love him now,
have loved him since.
In places he believed no light
could reach, we light a fire
to warm his memory
and talk about the times
we’ve felt our own cold hearts
turn hard and blue, so easy,
sometimes, to believe
an awful thing that isn’t true.
Now in those places, a miracle
perhaps, we love him most.
We couldn’t then, and now we do.
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5. April wisdom for our time
"A writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature."
—John Steinbeck (1902-1968), novelist
"If you set to work to believe everything, you will tire out the believing-muscles of your mind, and then you'll be so weak you won't be able to believe the simplest true things."
—Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), author & poet
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Till next time, Maximum Peace, Love and Understanding,
TK