Question Exchange with Fellow Creative, Part 4

January 13, 2026

Question Exchange with Fellow Creative, Part 4

dessert

dessert for the poet
as she walks rue saint-denis in montréal
is a mamie clafoutis oh mon dieu croissant,
a classic flaky buttery french pastry
filled with a substantial core
of rich chocolate ganache,
drizzled with dark chocolate and dusted
with confectioner’s sugar.

dessert for the poet
as she listens to an audio novel while she walks
her own massachusetts neighborhood
is the italian word fermata,
a word new to her that might never have caught her ear
had she not had a nearly finished draft of a poem
awaiting final tweaks for which fermata becomes
its oh mon dieu croissant!

—dotty seiter

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⬇️ GUEST ART! ⬇️

She Used Her Words to Fully Inhabit the ART
Lola Jovan

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Notes about poem and art:
My poem and Lola’s art above offer a partial view of Question Exchange Part 4 of our five-part collaboration. Take yourself to Lola’s blog for the details and the question prompts behind today’s post AND to be dazzled once again by her expressive art and the symbiosis of her art and writing. Her painting, “She Used Her Words to Fully Inhabit the ART,” and her accompanying commentary really resonated with me.

artist at play

art-writing symbiosis, inspired by lola jovan, playing with french and italian

Posted by:

Dotty Seiter

6 responses to “Question Exchange with Fellow Creative, Part 4”

carol lee

January 13, 2026 at 4:18 am

Guess I will have to go to Canada to really taste a chocolate croissant! Maybe in my next life!

Love how you bring in new worlds in to daily moments, and new words and concepts that would that would have flown by if not for your poetic use!

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1. Dotty Seiter
  
  January 13, 2026 at 6:11 am
  
  Ha! Yeah, that Montréal croissant was something! Back in the day before my Celiac diagnosis and before my practicing a low carb approach to food : )
  
  Writing poetry at this point in my life has changed my day-to-day living in magnificent ways. I appreciate your appreciation of what is showing up, Carol. Thank you!
  
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Joyful Puttering

January 13, 2026 at 11:13 am

I’m guessing most of your creative life is delicious…and much of it decadent. What a fun question for Lola to ask. And what a delicious poem.

I am also following the Monk’s Walk for Peace. The photos and videos lift me out of the current chaos in our world.

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1. Dotty Seiter
  
  January 13, 2026 at 12:52 pm
  
  MaryAnn, yup!, mostly delicious and quite often decadent! Lola’s question evoked considerable freewriting, and eventually narrowed itself down in ways I wouldn’t have anticipated to become this little poem.
  
  I am so grateful for the Monk’s Walk for Peace and its powerful ability to lift me and and wash peace over me. I do wonder: do they get blisters??! I took a prolonged walk on Christmas Eve in Boston with Dave and our son and daughter-in-law, and I returned home with huge blisters at the base of the big toe on both feet. Big ouch!
  
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lolajovan

January 13, 2026 at 2:57 pm

Where oh where can I get one of those croissants? YUM! The deliciousness of your poem, the incredible direction you’ve walked with these questions, the FUN I am having in creating images to answer your questions – YES YES YES!

And monks. The antidote to woe. I am a HUGE fan. xo

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1. Dotty Seiter
  
  January 13, 2026 at 3:59 pm
  
  Montréal! That’s where I got my croissant. It is literally called an Oh Mon Dieu, and I literally said Oh Mon Dieu after I tasted it. And now I say Oh Mon Dieu am I ever glad I got to experience that croissant before I was diagnosed with Celiac! Now I have poetry and art for dessert, so all is more than well.
  
  Thank you for the surprise theme accompanying your question prompts! Oh the places those themed questions have walked me to! Not to mention the unexpected delight of your responding to my questions with art. When Wonder Mike drew my name from the hat for a turn at a question exchange, I had no idea of the wild ride we’d be taking!
  
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My Story

In 2014, I grab an unexpected opportunity to paint.

To make art.

I get hooked.

In 2015 I start a blog—a diary of my life as an artist.

I post my paintings and their stories. The good, the bad, the ugly.

My compass points: bust through fear, be playful, get messy, trust my gut.

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