greetings & salutations
You may refer to me by the appellation of “Ramya,” by which designation I was promptly bestowed at the hour of my birth by my parents, who (as one of the parties present, I can tell you this with great certainty) looked at me adoringly as they did so, tears swelling in their eyes, love swelling in their hearts, the nurses joining in the general swell of emotion—
Some basic facts I (an expert) can tell you about myself (the subject in which I have the greatest expertise):
I enjoy wandering aimlessly, both in my mind and on the streets (both are dangerous, shhh, I know)
Keats and Shakespeare have my whole heart <3
I once took a circus class but, thankfully for my parents, did not run away and join it
, due to some difficulties with the unicycleI love French films of the 1960s and I cannot lie
Anything else you ought or ought not to know about me can be gleaned by reading this newsletter.
why “soul-making”?
from my very first newsletter:
The title of this project comes from a letter written by the poet John Keats to his brother George in the spring of 1819. In the letter, Keats reflects on a notion certain “misguided and superstitious” persons have of the world being “a vale of tears.” No, Keats replies, it is “The vale of Soul-making.” We all start out in the world as “intelligences or sparks,” but in order to become “Souls,” we need to “acquire identities” and become personally ourselves. This happens when the intelligence, or mind, and the “human heart” act upon each other in the schoolroom of the world—its “pains and troubles” are necessary for the heart to “feel and suffer in a thousand diverse ways,” and the mind develops its identity from this feeling and suffering heart, fashioning us into proper souls. My attempts at this soul-making are what you will see documented in this newsletter.
if you subscribe i’ll give you candy…
… Okay, maybe not, but you WILL get:
Meditative essays that draw on a variety of artworks and thinkers to delve into what currently interests me, usually esoteric or seemingly mundane topics such as:
Reflections on books, movies, art, the Internet, and my personal experiences
Rants about things that are really (!!) irritating me, like my rant about dog poop
Poems, in both traditional forms and free verse
A weekly digest (FRIDAY FRIVOLITY) that includes a short reflection on something that’s been on my mind during the week, a moodboard to inspire you, words of wisdom, a little shimmer of poetry, and a lingering question.
what about paid subscriptions?
Right now all content is FREE! That’s right, for the low price of $0.00, you can get all this, plus we’ll throw in a free copy of my signed (!!) nonexistent book.
I’m just trying to build my army of admirers at the moment, but if you would like to upgrade to a paid subscription ($5/month or $50/year) it would really help keep this newsletter running! From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of you who are supporting Soul-Making through a paid subscription, and content specifically for you will be forthcoming. <3
You can find me on Tumblr, on Twitter (I mean ““““X””””), on Substack Notes, and on my bed.
xoxo Ramya <3
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This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of my father.
