Welcome to the conversation
Conversant (adj): “familiar with or knowledgeable about something.”
To the ear, conversant begins with the word converse, suggesting a link between our knowledge and dialogue with others. In fact, converse stems from older French and Latin words that meant “to live among” and “to keep company with.” Hence the original sense of conversant was something like, “habitually spending time in a particular place or with a particular person.”
Most of the essays I share here on Conversant are responses to the authors, artists, and musicians with whom I keep company. Really, that’s all the writing life is for me: reading, noticing, listening, then saying something in reply. Writing helps me come to terms—literally—with what I encounter in the world, especially the world of literature.
But I don’t write only for myself. In sharing these words with you, I hope you will carry on the conversation.
About the author
Perhaps we’ve never met. Here’s a bit of my background to help you make sense of what you’ll be reading in the newsletter:
I’m a writer because I am a thinker; writing helps me organize my thoughts and make sense of this insane world.
I’m a poet because I love language—how it sounds in my head or feels rolling off my tongue.
I hold a B.A. in English & theology/philosophy from the University of Sioux Falls, an M.A. in theological studies from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an M.F.A. in creative writing (poetry) at Seattle Pacific University.
Other miscellaneous interests: jazz music; Blackwing pencils; weightlifting; espresso; any food made from a sourdough starter.
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Cheers,
Cameron
