Welcome to The Raft, where we’re all about trying to live from our “true spot,” buoyed by music, poetry, and other arts, along with water-drops of wisdom. Many of us are also into making stuff, whether casually or professionally.
What you get on The Raft
Oodles of resources and opportunities! Participate in what you want and let the rest go.
Click on these links to learn about The Raft'‘s . . .
Newsletters
When you join The Raft you’re automatically subscribed to every newsletter (or “section”) that I publish except Rafter Digest:
Daily Boost (weekdays). Bites of “soul food” for your inner life, curated from the arts. Content drifts toward poetry and music.
Staying Power (occasional Sundays). My original riffs, musings, poems, and tales.
Events & News (bi-monthly on Saturday. The latest Rafter announcements, plus my author news.
If you feel “inbox overwhelm,” consider changing your subscription to the Rafter Digest. Published on Saturday, it’s a weekly roundup of major newsletter posts and event replays. You’ll get links to most everything in the other newsletters, but in a single message per week.
You can always adjust your Raft settings to receive just the mailings you’re interested in.
Regular Zoom Groups
Poetry Pick-Me-Up (Zoom, non-holiday Thursdays, 12-1PM Central). Host: Phyllis Cole-Dai. A casual poetry-sharing and discussion group. Bring a poem written by someone other than yourself to read to the group. Or, just come to listen to the poems offered by other Rafters and to participate in informal but wholehearted conversation about them. Hop on the Zoom at this link.
Poets on the Raft (Zoom, twice monthly, two separate groups). Schedule and hosts vary. A safe, receptive space in which poets of all varieties of experience can get supportive group feedback. Both groups are currently full.
Rafters Writing Fiction (Zoom, every other Tuesday, 1PM Central). Host: Ferwa Jaffery. This group is currently full.
The Raft also hosts virtual workshops and other events.
Digs and Dives
Digs. A “Dig” is a surprise invitation to write or otherwise “make” over the course of a month or so. It asks you to “dig” deeper into the current of your own creativity and benefit from its flow. You’re welcome to tweak a Dig however you’d like to fit your favorite creative media. Digs often conclude with a Rafter “Frolic,” a celebration of sharing on Zoom. All Digs are available to all Rafters.
Dives. A “Dive” is a once-weekly creative nudge. It appears every Monday at the bottom of The Daily Boost and is accessible to Raft patrons (paid subscribers) as a gesture of gratitude.
One last thing . . .
I offer The Raft as a gift. However, if you can help support this community with a voluntary contribution, I’d be grateful. Consider your contribution a tangible expression of the value you find here.
You’ll get a few modest perks in return:
an annual virtual patrons’ bash with me and a featured guest
occasional exclusive content
discounts on some Raft events and stuff in my webstore
most of all, the delight of knowing that you’re helping to keep The Raft fully accessible to absolutely everybody. (Yes, just like public broadcasting!)
Become a supporting subscriber of The Raft at one of these levels:
$5 per month
$50 per year (less than a dollar per week).
Raft Keeper: $150 per year
All these contributions are collected via Substack, which receives a share of the proceeds. This enables the Substack platform to flourish as an alternative to other less user-friendly and less ethical social media platforms.
If you’d rather make a one-time contribution in an amount of your choosing, use the button below. Upon being notified of your contribution, I’ll change your Rafter membership from free to paid. You’ll then enjoy the modest but heartfelt perks of paid membership for a period of time that corresponds to the usual Raft subscription model. For example, if you give a one-time donation of $50, I’ll give you a year’s paid subscription. If you give $5, I’ll give you a month’s.
Rather contribute by check? Please contact me.
Grateful, grateful.
Again, I’m so glad you’ve stepped aboard The Raft! As an author, poet, musical dabbler, and host of this online community, I look forward to rubbing creative shoulders with you. Always feel free to drop me a line.
Ready to head downstream?
