The Beckoning of Lovely

So Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a bestselling author, host of the literary and music radio show Writers’ Block Party on Chicago Public Radio and is an all around excellent person. I recently became involved in a project she spearheaded called The Beckoning of Lovely. It’s very difficult to explain, so start by watching this short film that started everything:

I was there on 8/8/08. It was an awesome experience. After the event, I went to watch the film we made online and learned that Amy was expanding the project to try to create a feature-length film. I decided to apply for one of the “Supremely Excellent Judge” positions. The application called for me to list favorite movies, music, books, quotes and write a paragraph about my “legendary good taste.” I did just that, as did apparently many many others, and I was delighted to find out that I was selected by Amy as one of nine Chicago-based judges.

I’m currently wading through the submissions – there are over 450 people from all over the world who sent in submissions, most with multiple photos, songs, videos, paintings, stories, poems, etc. attached. It’s fairly overwhelming and pretty damn time-consuming, but I’ve been having so much fun discovering what people think is lovely and the talent people possess.

Because ultimately, that’s what drew me to the project: people dreaming and creating and interacting and collaborating to make something bigger than themselves. It's very much up my alley. I’m really excited for the film (and maybe book!?) to come to fruition in the future. All of us Chicago judges are going to meet up in early March, have a big discussion and tally our votes. I shall keep you posted, oh dear Internet, on any exciting developments.