Writing & Critiquing Since 1979
News & Updates: Bearlodge Writers Blog
Amanda (Blake) Fall Bio
Amanda Fall’s hands reveal much about her: ink stains, dried paint, and an enticing aroma of permanent marker. Her notebooks overflow with scribbles of poetry, bits and pieces of novels, and middle-of-the-night jots of inspiration that she hopes to be able to translate someday. And her studio? Piles of mixed-media pieces in various stages of progression. Unruly stacks of her hand-marbled paper. Bits and bobs of inspiration that confuse even her (doll faces? Old stereo wires? Who knows).
Amanda owns and operates Persistent Green, a small business with big heart. Her products are handcrafted and designed, including wildly colorful paper goods and inspiring artwork. She also maintains a bright and cheerful blog, including three weekly features to uplift and encourage.
Amanda, her husband, and their mischievous cat live in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Publication Credits
Every Day Poets
Common Ties
In the Shadow of the Bear Lodge, Many Kites Press, 2006
Christian Science Sentinel
The New Green Bowl Review
Best of College Photography Annual 2005
Awards:
March '03, 1st Place, Stewart Bellman Award for Excellence in
Undergraduate
Writing
March '03, 2nd Place, New Talent Poetry contest,
ByLine Magazine
January '06, Honorable Mention, Personal Essay contest,
ByLine Magazine
August '06, 3rd Place, Children's Poem
May ’09, 1st Place, 2nd Annual Bathsheba Monk Short Story Contest
Excerpt of Writing
Beginnings
Listen. Write. Create. Stories surround me, in every person I pass on the street, in each “what if?” and “what then?” that drifts through my mind. Design envelops me, in every swoop and whirl of frost on the windowpane, in each color and texture that reverberates in a way that perhaps nobody else will notice.
My dreams have not given up. They whisper in my ear when I stare blindly at the world, no longer seeing the detail that animates me. They grumble when I turn up the TV volume in attempts to drown them out. But lately? That whisper is becoming as insistent as my snooze alarm, growing louder and louder each time I bury my face in the pillow and refuse to gather enough courage to face my day.
My confidence is increasing. I’m beginning to turn back to the unyielding light of morning, even when it’s too bright. I’m getting exhausted with all the waiting. Waiting—all my life, for the perfect moment, the perfect thing to say, the perfect thing to do, the perfect way to Accomplish my Dreams and be Successful. Well. Guess what? In all this waiting, nothing really gets done, or at least not in a joyful, unburdened way. How much am I stunting my success by clinging to some convoluted concept of what that success should look like?
Perhaps now, at last, it is time to listen to those whispers, to the persistent green of hope that has not left me, no matter how often I forget to water.
Excerpt from Amanda’s blog, Persistent Green: (http://PersistentGreen.blogspot.com).
Get to know Amanda
Currently Reading:
The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron.
Taking Flight: Inspiration & Techniques to Give your Creative Spirit
Wings by Kelly Rae Roberts.
Consideration of the Guitar: New and Selected Poems by Ray
Gonzalez.
Favorite Quotes:
“The grace of creativity is a great underground river. It flows on, untouched by the events and the apparent droughts of our outer life. Like the great rivers that flow within the earth, it is there, waiting for us to acknowledge it and dip into it with humility.” Julia Cameron
"Be yourself. Above all. Let who you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish." John Jakes
Email Amanda