“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” (Introduction to Mother Night) “All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental.” (Timequake) For years, I’ve taken to reading an author’s works in chronological order. The better I get as a reader, the more this practice provides … Continue reading Kilgore Was Here
In the midst of new baby, new house, new life, and new writing projects, I decided to enter a haiku contest for the Centennial National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. Some people may smirk at haiku, but I’ve been seriously reading and writing in the form for a while. The more I learn about … Continue reading A Haiku and an Interview
Last night was good for chance cooking. My wife bought tilapia fillets that she then had no appetite for and left them to me. My first thought was to sear each side and make a garlic, butter, and white wine sauce. Serve with a side of some veggies and homemade garlic bread. Simple, but good. … Continue reading aleatory cooking and Beethoven à la mode
Around Birmingham I’ve noticed more street art than I’ve ever seen. I’m not referring to the hard-to-read “tags” or graffiti that have been common in most cities since at least the ‘80s. Tags are basically someone’s name or nickname reproduced, sometimes as incomprehensible as some metal band logos. (Having some HTML issues: You can click … Continue reading McClurg goes all-city, for a few blocks anyway
I love the extra cooking time I get in the summer. I’ve made broths, sauces, breads, and sawmill gravy (The only dish besides jambalaya and gumbo that I learned like oral history—these recipes feel different when I make them. Maybe I should explore that in another post…). This week’s output will also include some rolls, … Continue reading not “sea legs,” but maybe “baker’s wrists” or “dough mitts”
Or maybe “Skeletons In the Closet.” An old bone won’t have much meat on it and if it’s too far gone, it won’t make a good base for a stock either. Going through an old notebook last night, I found a brittle femur that I’ll offer up in a second. For some reason, my grandmother … Continue reading Digging Up Bones
You can read a recent short story of mine here. The story started as a dream script that I would present to Jan Svankmajer, one of my favorite directors. In a way, my attempt was to give an interior monologue to a puppet or character in a stop-motion film. Much of Svankmajer’s work has no … Continue reading A Failure to Communicate
For part of our summer reading assignments, we are responding to a few of Poe’s short stories. After reading “The Black Cat,” I’ve asked students to respond with a story or a response about their own fears. I wish I could say I had an interesting personal fear. I’m not talking about the fear of … Continue reading One Snake, Two Snake, Red Snake, Blue Snake
Even though I’m wrestling with several challenges personal and professional, only one seems to fit this blog: the 100 books challenge. Ok, make that two: I’ve got to get glasses! Since I published a few poems and have worked on two separate albums set to come out this year, I’m not pushing myself on the … Continue reading Challenges
Stephen McClurg 