Tags: career advice, Cheryl Strayed, literature, quote, travel, travel writing, travelogues, writing life
Yiasou!
Stephanie Nikolopoulos is a writer, editor, writing teacher, and speaker based in New York City.
She is the author with Paul Maher Jr. of "Burning Furiously Beautiful: The True Story of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road.'"
She's also currently working on a memoir about growing up Greek American.
You can email her at stephanie_701 {@} yahoo.com
Up and at 'em this Saturday morning. I'm in the process of organizing my writing materials. I'm trying not to overthink it because it's easy to get sidetracked and start reading through angsty teenage poems and meaningful love letters I've tucked away into overstuffed drawers. I've got several works-in-progress, along with books and magazines featuring my writing, and not enough room for it all. Ah, city living. I've managed to clean out three whole drawers! I'm relying on The Container Store to help me make full use of my vertical space (yay for dramatically high ceilings!) and "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" and "Tiny House Hunting" to keep me motivated and to give me creative space-saving ideas. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit the Swedish minimalism gene. I keep thinking about how Ann Charters discovered that Jack Kerouac was meticulous in keeping files of his writing, and I want to be like that. I don't want to purge all physical copies, as I'd like to keep certain things for posterity's sake. I've lost too much to website closures in the past. Writers, please send me your tips! How do you store all your contracts, clips, and various versions of manuscripts-in-progress without going completely digital? đź“š
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#lifeofawriter #lifeofaneditor #authorsofinstagram #bookeditor #manuscriptinprogress #cleaning #gettingorganized #tidyingupwithmariekondo #tinyhousehunters #tinyhousehunting #nyclife #studiolife #writingstudio #smallspaceliving #oneroomliving #containerstore #mariekondo #jackkerouac #organizationhacks #brucelee #bruceleequotes #saturdayroutine #twobecomeone #adulting #swedishminimalism #swedishminimalist #swedishamerican #anncharters @thecontainerstore @mariekondo
That moment when you think everyone forgot your birthday but actually they've conspired to throw you a surprise party, and you feel so loved but also awkward having so much attention lavished on you and then you spend the entire night worried whether everyone is having fun and getting along since there are people from different friend groups there who have never met each other before. #introvertproblems Special thanks to Dave for organizing everything! He went above and beyond. And special thanks to Rachel for capturing it on video. I have the most amazing people in my life! I am blessed beyond measure. :::
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#decembertoremember #introvert #introvertlife #birthdaygirl #mycuprunsover #mycuprunnethover #bestfriends #hesakeeper #birthdayparty #surpriseparty #awkwardmoments #feelingawkward #centerofattention #decemberbaby #stephanienikolopoulos #friendshipgoals #bengaltigerindianfood
Most of life feels lived in the thick of routine, but perhaps it's an infinite series of beginnings and endings. There is adventure in it all if we open our eyes to it. :::
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#beginningsandendings #newbeginnings #lifeisahighway #closingtime #semisonic #soundtracktomylife #longandwindingroad #openyoureyes #adventureiscalling #90smusic #dancewiththewhale #routine #embraceallseasons #sentimental
On this day last year, I was straight up chillin' at the Ice Hotel. It was a dream come true and one of the best days of my life! ❄️
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#icehotel #jukkasjärvi #swedishlaland #lapland #sweden #tripofalifetime #dreamsdocometrue #winterwonderland #iceicebaby #wanderlust #wandress #solowomentraveltribe #solowomentravel #swedishgirl #swedishwoman #sami #arcticcircle #scandinavia #wanderlustwednesday #travelwriter #travelwriting #travelwritingwomen #swedishamerican @icehotelsweden @icehotelsweden_iceexperience @swedishlapland @visitsweden_us
What does it mean to be yourself? How do you grow into the person you're meant to be? My life looks nothing like how I envisioned it to be when I was younger. It's so much better! Sometimes the best thing that can happen to us is to not get what we want and expect. Sometimes we put limits on our dreams without even realizing it because we cannot see past the life we know. Growing up I felt like an absurd hero in a Saul Bellow novel, defining my day by burned toast. The poets and writers of the Beat Generation inspired me to hit the road, to travel not for luxury or relaxation but to live. Still, I played it rather safe in life, and playing it safe is one of the most dangerous things you can do. So, two years ago I went to the American Museum of Natural History and danced under the Blue Whale and dedicated myself to taking risks, facing fears, living life to the fullest. It culminated in my trip of a lifetime to the Lapland, a destination I'd long dreamed of visiting but had put off because I could never justify the luxury. The overarching lesson from that and from the past two years has been to do more for myself, valuing my dreams and desires. I'm fortunate to have amazingly supportive and encouraging people in my life who remind me of who I am. I'm now in a season of change. It is exciting and scary and beautiful and freeing. I'm continuing to dance with the whale. To live life to the fullest. To be burning furiously beautiful. :::
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#dancewiththewhale #dreamdestination #saulbellow #beatgeneration #playingitsafe #burningfuriouslybeautiful #stephanienikolopoulos #amnh #livemorefully #risktaker #dreamchaser #carpediem #dreamitdoit #dreambigger #realitybites #generationx #purposedrivenlife #gobigorgohome @amnh
Look what I found at Housing Works! "Tau" (referring to the Greek letter) by Philip Lamantia. This City Lights book wasn't published til after his death. Here's a little about him, which will show why I was so excited to find this book:::
After seeing the art of Salvador DalĂ and Joan MirĂł at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Philip Lamantia became interested in writing surrealist poetry. Michael McClure called Lamantia's poetry "hyper-personal visionary Surrealism." Lawrence Ferlinghetti said: "Philip was a visionary like [William] Blake, and he really saw the whole world in a grain of sand." Traveling to Mexico, Morocco, France, and Spain, obsessed with jazz, a student of everything from medieval studies to Egyptology, the son of immigrants went on to have a profound impact on the Beat Generation. Just as Neal Cassady helped Jack Kerouac find his voice, Lamantia helped Allen Ginsberg find his. In fact, he was one of the five poets who read at the infamous Six Gallery reading on October 7, 1955. Instead of reading his own work, though, he read the work of his friend John Hoffman, who had recently passed. Though many know him for his erotic and terror-filled poetry, he later wrote poetry devoted to the rediscovery of his Catholic faith. Paul and I mention him in "Burning Furiously Beautiful."
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@housingworksbks @citylightsbooks
#philiplamantia #beatgeneration #beatpoetry #citylightsbookstore #burningfuriouslybeautiful #jackkerouac #allenginsberg #sixgallery #sanfranciscopoetry #sanfranciscopoets #lawrenceferlinghetti #housingworksbookstore #immigrantstories #childofimmigrants #sicillian #italianamericanpoet #surrealism #surrealistpoetry #joanmiro #joanmirĂł #salvadordali #salvadordalĂ #michaelmcclure #eroticpoetry #catholicpoetry #catholicwriter #christianwriters #citylightsbooks #jazzpoetry
Twitter Updates
- Writers, I'm trying not to overthink it, but how do you organize physical clips, contracts, and manuscripts when yo… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 14 hours ago
- Playing it safe is one of the most dangerous things you can do. So, two years ago I danced under the Blue Whale at… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 days ago
- "Philip was a visionary like [William] Blake, and he really saw the whole world in a grain of sand." ~Lawrence Ferl… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 4 days ago
- Recommended #jackkerouac reading! twitter.com/john_j_dorfner… 5 days ago
- #BurningFuriouslyBeautiful is now ON SALE exclusively through Lulu, with the case-sensitive code: CYBERMONDAY30… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 5 days ago
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