Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-193).

A Basket of Currencies -- The Moment of Ignition -- Words and You -- Not Either/Or but Both -- We Never Did Make it to Jerusalem -- What Lies Within the Moment's Note? -- Invitations -- The Extravagance of Being There -- Safe Houses -- The Prometheus Syndrome -- Holding the World Open -- The Fire and the Rose -- Geography -- Hand in Glove -- A Writer Prepares -- The Wild Card -- Quantum and Sprouting Beans -- Mirrors and Frictions -- A Dialogue Between Solitudes -- Expansions -- In the Beginning I: We Fed the Heart -- In the Beginning II: Moving It -- The Nutshell -- The Moat -- From one to Another -- Building Bridges -- The Errant Banana -- All the Lost Ones -- The Power of the Name -- Resistance -- Up the Creek -- Serving Time -- Quick-Reference Writing-Practice Lists -- Beginnings, Turn-overs, Kick-starts -- Focus, Extensions, Meanders -- Long-Range, Completions, Comprehensives -- Sample Workshop: Hegel's Jug -- Breaking the Language: Brighton Workshop -- Laura's Week I: The Inspiration of the Tree -- Laura's Week II: Horseman -- Marie's Year.

A book which brings fresh insights to the role of language in our lives and opens up new dimensions for creative writing. Nicki Jackowska moves effortlessly between the spiritual, political and emotional, yet never loses sight of the essential connection between idea and practice. This radical exploration of words and their use has at its core a critique of society at large. It raises challenging questions and introduces multiple perspectives on the life of language, in both the personal and public spheres.