Lisa A. Kramer

Hello Creative Collaborators!

I am writing this letter because of a dream. For those of you who know me, I am always a big dreamer. This dream, however, is kind of the fruition of the past few years of my life, as I have started reinventing myself and finding new ways to create and collaborate.

I would like to invite you to contribute to an anthology I have begun working on called:

Reclaiming Goddesses: How to Bring the World into Balance

The idea for this anthology comes from my beliefs that:
 

• Many of the problems in our world stem from (mostly white male) leaders who decided to codify their control over women and anyone considered different by writing rules and stories in the patriarchal voices of male gods.
• The stories and voices of goddesses (even if only metaphorical) were rewritten or silenced because of the fear of feminine power.
• The complexity of the problems we face in the world today require new approaches, and I believe they can be found in the stories and attributes of goddesses and divine femininity (including creativity, collaboration, empathy, etc.)

Just to be clear, I am not looking at this from any specific religious identity. I was raised as a conservative Jew, but nowadays I focus more on the idea that we are all connected energetically, creatively, and spiritually.

Here's a quote from a draft of the intro that I have begun working on:
 

This project comes from what I believe is a crucial need for everyone—not just those who identify as women or Other—to reclaim these goddesses and embrace their wisdom. The times we live in call for a different approach if we want to survive. There is an overwhelming tendency throughout the world to focus on individualism, Capitalism, or elite control that has led to ignoring the fact that we are destroying ourselves.

When the focus is solely on individual gain and success, it’s easy to ignore things like the environment, poverty, hunger, injustice in healthcare, and the fact that more and more people simply work to survive when we should all be able to have access to much richer and more comfortable lives. In times when people want to prove their superiority, we get laws that control bodies, minds, and souls. Intelligent and creative minds have come so far with technology and our understanding of the universe that life should be easier for everyone, no matter where they live, or how wealthy they are. Instead, we are even more divided by the haves and have nots, by misunderstandings and miscommunication, by the color of our skin, the people who we love, and our own belief systems.

Many of the goddesses fought for justice, freedom, and the right to live life as they chose. They protected women and children, demanded the right to their own sexual being (including the right to remain virginal or have many partners), and fought against the injustices laid over the weak by the powerful. They also protected the natural world, recognizing that all things have natural cycles that support one another. These are things that I choose to fight for in this world—the right to choose our own paths, regulate our own bodies, protect our environment, and live fully and creatively as individual members who are also responsible for a larger natural community.

The search for the Goddess (both individual and communal) comes from an urgent need to recognize that humans are on a path to self-destruction of both humanity and the earth. It is time to reunite our divided pieces in order to survive. "

Honest Talk

Although I have been researching and writing on this project for a while, its really at the beginning stages. There are lots of questions that I can’t answer clearly yet, but hope to gain clarity on as the project takes shape:
 

• Publishing: As of write now, I plan on self-publishing and distributing with the help of Bublish, under the imprint Spark Collaborative Media. The challenge with this method is financing the project.
• Financing: I intend to apply for appropriate grants, and/or create a Kickstarter to raise funds for the project. A project this size could run to around $10,000 or more.
• Contributor Payments: I am a firm believer in artists getting paid for what they do. Part of my world is advocating for a more creative economy, and more respect for creators. That said, see the financing issue. I hope to be able to pay something to all contributors. Right now, though, I can only promise the following:
  • Contributors will receive one paperback copy of the book, as well as one electronic copy.
  • Contributors will get name recognition in all publicity.
  • If we can set up any book signing events and you are nearby and want to participate, then any contributor who is there will get an equal split of the profits from that event.
• Timeline:
  • This gets even muddier. I am currently working on launching another book Re-Creating the World: The Power and Joy of Collaborative Creativity. It’s currently getting an editorial assessment and a cover design, and I recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for this book. (Feel free to help me spread the word about that). I am hoping I will be able to get that out in the world by July 1, 2023. That said, I don’t want to launch a Kickstart for Reclaiming Goddesses until after that launch (though I will be looking for grants before then).
  • I wanted anyone interested in submitting to have time to explore goddess stories (with my help as needed) and play with the ideas and their own creative processes. So, my submission deadline will for this book will also be July 1, 2023 with a tentative publication date of January 2024.

Yours with Creative Power,
 

Lisa A. Kramer