Carrie Newcomer, a celebrated singer-songwriter known for her spiritual-infused music, shares insights from her latest book and album, both titled "A Permeable Life." She discusses her writing practices, emphasizing how questioning can deepen faith. The conversation highlights the beauty of finding authenticity in everyday moments and navigating unexpected opportunities when facing closed doors. Carrie also performs two songs, weaving themes of hope, resilience, and tenderness into her reflections on spirituality and creativity.
Carrie Newcomer highlights the vital connection between authentic creativity and spirituality, emphasizing that true expression stems from embracing vulnerability.
The podcast explores Newcomer's commitment to activism, showing how her art serves as a platform for advocating justice and connecting diverse communities.
Deep dives
The Intersection of Art and Faith
The discussion centers on the profound relationship between creativity and spirituality, exploring how presence and sacramental living shape artistic expression. Carrie Newcomer emphasizes the importance of finding the extraordinary in everyday life and the gifts that come with being truly present. This perspective leads to a richer understanding of spirituality, which she describes as a journey of continuous surprise rather than mere adherence to dogma. The conversation highlights how songwriting for Newcomer is not just about crafting melodies, but about daring to explore deeper themes that resonate with her and her audience.
Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability
Newcomer articulates the significance of authenticity in her creative process, asserting that the closer one gets to their truest self, the more impactful their work becomes. She shares the idea that artists must give themselves permission to be genuine, which fosters deeper connections with others. This journey of embracing vulnerability is illustrated through her music, where writing songs reflective of her experiences becomes a powerful act of self-discovery. It is this commitment to authenticity that allows her to connect meaningfully with her audience and create music that resonates on a profound level.
Social Justice as a Core Theme
Activism plays a vital role in Newcomer's life and work, as she uses her artistic platform to advocate for justice and support marginalized communities. She discusses her involvement in international initiatives focused on nonviolent conflict resolution, revealing how her spiritual journey intersects with social justice. By addressing essential themes of love and hope in her songs, Newcomer aims to bridge gaps between different cultures and emphasize shared human experiences. This commitment to social issues reinforces the notion that art can serve as a vehicle for change and understanding.
Exploring the Divine in Everyday Life
The conversation delves into Newcomer's belief in the pervasive presence of the divine within daily experiences, illustrating a sense of sacramentality in everyday life. She reflects on how her spiritual practice, influenced by Quakerism, encourages listening and silence, enhancing her ability to perceive the divine in the mundane. Newcomer emphasizes that the quest for answers should be accompanied by curiosity and wonder, maintaining that questioning is an integral part of the spiritual journey. Her poetry and lyrics often capture fleeting moments of beauty, inviting listeners to find significance and connection in their own lives.
Referred to as a "prairie mystic" by the Boston Globe and characterized by Rolling Stone as someone who "asks all the right questions," Carrie Newcomer is a singer-songwriter that brings her spirituality to the same table as her songwriting. Callid got a chance to talk to Carrie about her new book and album, both called A Permeable Life. The book is full of great pieces of prose and poetry that she wrote while developing the album.
The interview is addresses her writing practices, the ways in which questioning can be a form of faithfulness, and how sometimes the best we can do is to just keep going on. She also shares two songs and does a great reading about an amazing moment of clarity.
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