 The Soul Tells a Story: Engaging Creativity with Spirituality in the Writing Life
by Vinita Hampton Wright
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005
259 pages, US$ $14.00 Reviewed by Teresa Blythe Novelist Vinita Hampton Wright (Velma Still Cooks in Leeway and Grace at Bender Springs)
shares timeless spiritual wisdom in a book that is primarily about the
creative life and secondarily about the writing life. Wright draws in
the spiritual director from the very beginning, when she links
creativity with spirituality. “Some people become a little more
mystical when they engage in creativity. Creative work will demonstrate
to you again and again that the world is bigger and deeper than you
perceive” (p. 33). Spiritual guides who have worked with artists will
resonate with much of what Wright has to share from her own spiritual
journey, as she recounts her struggles to accept her introversion, live
with depression and move from a religious background that taught her to
deny her desires into one in which God lives and moves within her
deepest desires. Each of the nine
chapters begins with quotes from famous writers, dancers and artists
who have written about the creative process. She then moves into an
essay on the theme and ends with questions the reader may use for
journaling or exploring his or her own creative style. A bonus for
spiritual directors who cherish the well thought out “query” are these
questions Wright presents throughout the book echoing the types of
questions spiritual directors pose—at the right time—to those wrestling
with God’s creative energy in their lives. The
first half of the book sets the tone by discussing creative callings of
many types—not just the call of the writer. Dancers, visual artists and
musicians will appreciate such topics as “what to expect when you
embrace creative callings” (p. 15) and “the various ways we tap the
well” (p. 91). The second half of the book, beginning with chapter five
on “how to craft but not control while using both sides of the brain”
(p. 121), will be of greatest interest to the writer, as Wright
comments on the many challenges specific to writers. However, she still
tackles subject matter of interest to a variety of creative
artists—such as how sexuality informs our creativity and the importance
of awareness. “Your job as an artist first of all is to pay attention.
Only when you do that will you perceive what is waiting to be revealed
and then interpreted to the rest of the world” (p. 243). Of
greatest interest to the spiritual director will be the section on
“desires and fears: our personal trapdoors” (p. 100–104). “I have
learned to trust my desires much more than my upbringing allowed,” she
writes (p. 101). And notes that, “as a creative person, you will burst
into bloom when you create out of your desires” (p. 102). While Wright
is speaking from personal experience as a writer, most spiritual
directors will recognize this same truth from working any directee,
even those who do not envision themselves as artists. This
is a valuable book for any spiritual director but is a priceless
addition for one who works with any kind of creative artist. Teresa
Blythe is a writer and spiritual director who conducts workshops and
gives lectures at conferences all over the country. She is the author of 50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Times (Abingdon Press, April 2006) and has published numerous articles, essays and book reviews in Beliefnet, Spirituality & Health, Leadership and Presbyterians Today magazines.
She is Coordinator of the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction at the
Redemptorist Renewal Center in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and you may
contact her at tblythe@jps.net. • Click here to return to list of media reviews •
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