Essays

Where do I fit?

In the tech industry you’ll often hear a founder say “We have no competitors! We are creating a new category! No one does what we do!” Whenever a company says that, reporters and analysts roll their eyes. PR people do too, because it’s much easier to take over and change markets than it is to forge a brand new path. Remember the Newton anyone?

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But why do we like what we like?

As spring slides into summer San Francisco and I are both in that betwixt and between place – windy, warm, foggy, radiant. I am not sure what to write about this month, so I am turning to the ever generous, ever reliable George Saunders again. His radical preference exercise was a delight. He invited his Story Club readers to randomly pick…

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Writing is about making choices

One of the tasks every new writer faces is filtering. There is so much advice available. What should one follow?

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It’s always darkest

I’ve got a funny relationship with optimism and pessimism. After working in corporate PR for decades I’m pretty jaded about business and government leaders. When a CEO or anyone in government makes a stupid decision with painful consequences I’m not surprised or indignant. I just shrug. Of course that’s what happened . . . .

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Pandemic perspective

In July 2019 I wrote an essay in an attempt to answer a question so awkward that it made me sweat. In March 2020, not long after the pandemic closed us in our homes, I revised it. This month, reflecting back on March 2020 and thinking about what’s ahead in 2022, I remembered this piece.

Here’s a flash version of my essay Alone. 

“Why didn’t you ever marry?” my dead fiancé’s son asked me, in a voice that sounded so much like his father’s I had trouble breathing. 

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Yup, this is what I love

Are there lessons lurking in what we love? What we really love to read, to watch, to listen to? George Saunders thinks so.

In his excellent newsletter/community/gift to the world, Story Club, he recently wrote a post on influences. Not the influences that make us sound literary and educated and subtle, but our real influences. He says: “When you were between the ages of 5 and 10, what did you read/view/experience that made you crazy with delight?”

He invited everyone following his newsletter to note what we loved as a child, a teenager, as we became adults, in five-year increments. OK George, I’m in!

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Designed by Kathy Hiscox of Martin Marketing
Designed by Kathy Hiscox of Martin Marketing

About Lisa

Lisa Poulson, a voice in favor of the complex beauty of female power, was once a tech industry badass, a grieving almost-widow and a faithful Mormon all at the same time. Now a writer in San Francisco, Lisa writes about grief, love and the complex beauty of female power.

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Clarity

Lisa Poulson is the legal copyright holder of this blog. Contents may not be used, reprinted, or published without written consent.

About Lisa

Lisa Poulson is a voice in favor of the complex beauty of female power, the descendant of fiercely resilient Mormon pioneers and a woman who survived the death of her fiancé four months before their wedding. Lisa lives in San Francisco, where she spends her time absorbing and creating as much beauty as possible.

Reminder

You are reading of your own will and choice. How you read, act on or don’t act on what you read here is up to you.

Reassurance

While lisapoulson.com does use cookies, which helps us understand how you engage with our site and where you’re from, we do NOT save your personal information - like e-mail, name or address. And, if you join our mailing list or comment on a post, we will not share (or sell) your contact information. We are not responsible for commenters or other third parties here.

Clarity

Lisa Poulson is the legal copyright holder of this blog. Contents may not be used, reprinted, or published without written consent.