Songbook #4: The Wrote and the Writ

Old Pine and Room & Wine

Welcome to the fourth weekly edition of The Songbook. There are 5 new subscribers this week. Join the 63 subscribers of this newsletter by signing up below:

The Songbook is a personal compilation where I share my writing, as well as content that is significant to me in some way. Similar to how music punctuates our days, I’ll use songs I love as writing prompts (and will include a Spotify link to each song). You can read the previous edition featuring Bongeziwe Mabandla’s Ndibuyile here.

---

Old Pine

I’m a dad! We proudly welcomed Thomas James into the world late on Sunday 25 September 2022 weighing in at 3.3kgs. He is a lovely boy, and Jules and I are so incredibly lucky to have this adorable human in our home.

It’s been a week of memorable firsts. Seeing the love in his eyes as he looks up at his mom for the first time, holding him, introducing him to his grandmothers, carrying him in his car seat out of the hospital, watching him doze off on my chest in the afternoon sunlight, soothing him to sleep in the dead of night.

I’m sure with some perspective I’ll know which words to use to describe the waves of emotion I’ve felt this week. Does it feel like falling in love? Yes. Yes, and more. But I’ll need some time to articulate the ‘more’.

I’ve played Thomas some Ben Howard during nappy changes. I think he likes it. At least one of us does.

We stood
Steady as the stars in the woods
So happy-hearted
And the warmth rang true inside these bones

---

Room & Wine

On my final day of law school, my favourite professor, Hugh Corder, said something that stuck with me: “How you treat every single person you meet is what defines your humanity.”

The birth was complicated for both Tom and mom, and through the toughest moments, Jules treated every single person she interacted with impeccably. I’m so proud to have her as my teammate, and feel so fortunate to have a healthy and happy household.

In addition to the changes you experience when becoming a parent, witnessing your life partner in a new role is something that is perhaps underplayed. Hearing her talking so lovingly to Tom during a feed, and seeing the way she holds him and looks at him, is something that I feel so privileged to be a part of.

I love ending the week with a glass of wine or two with Jules. So, on the other side of the pregnancy, this Friday evening together was something we both really looked forward to. We put Thomas down, opened a bottle of red, and celebrated an unforgettable week together.

It didn’t last long though. We were both asleep by 9pm without troubling the bottle further.

All we needed was a room and some wine

---

The Wrote and The Writ

I had some more exciting news this week: I received a partial scholarship for David Perell’s Write of Passage course. I have wanted to enrol since I first heard about it in 2020 and am so excited to start next week.

I was put forward for the scholarship by one of the mentors of the program, John Nicholas. John and I met a handful of times in Johannesburg, where we both lived for much of the last decade. We moved in similar circles, but never had each other’s numbers. He was just a nice guy I sort of knew, and our friendship took off last year over a shared interest in writing.

If you are thinking about writing online, I recommend you give it a try. I’m confident that you will be surprised with how you are rewarded. I was surprised that an acquaintance like John would become such a great friend.

If you’re too shy to publish under your own name, you should read this essay by Charlie Bleecker about the benefit of publishing pseudonymously.

If you're born with a love for the wrote and the writ
Pay heed to your heart and not to your wit

–

Thanks for reading the fourth edition of The Songbook. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to like, comment, or share. I’d love to hear from you.

Nic