The week began with some semi-restful snow days. I don’t believe anyone in our home was permanently damaged, though a few tears were shed and more than a few markers bled. The almost-four-year-old sang while we were discussing dinner plans. Her song began, “Tiki masala / I need a dolla.” Not bad. I wrote about … Continue reading The Week That Was, or You got some Duncan Idaho on my Gurney Halleck.
Though in different ways, this year was as tough as last year. Maybe that’s just what it is. I wrote seven installments of Test Prep, my contribution to The Terror Test, a horror podcast made by two fellow English teachers. I wasn’t able to write as many as I wanted to, but I’m proud of … Continue reading The Year in Writing 2017
I recently interviewed poet Ashley M. Jones. She was great to talk to, all at once kind, thoughtful, and generous with her time. I can’t wait for her new work. I have a few more planned, but the details are shaky for the moment. I have a lot of reading to do for them right now. … Continue reading Seasonal Updates and Otherwise
My Ántonia Willa Cather 1918 A vision of the American West that was already gone when this went to print. I love novels from this period. Cather makes the scenery come alive, similar to what Wharton does in Ethan Frome, though often achieving opposite effects. To oversimplify, one could say Ántonia is hot and Ethan … Continue reading Recently Read: January Edition
I’m reading J.H. Prynne’s The White Stones for the first time and while enjoying it, I often find myself feeling lost. I don’t find that a negative response; I have often felt that way with works that have become favorites. There are themes and images that connect across the poems and I’m just barely getting an overall … Continue reading to be warm and tired/without some impossible flame in the heart
Read Quinn’s new post here. Reading White Egrets by Derek Walcott. Sometimes I read for surprise and difficulty. Sometimes I read for comfort. The voice and craft of this book put it in the latter category. Not that all the topics of the book were comforting: aging, losing gifts or talents, losing loved ones and … Continue reading Catching up with Quinn #3
We received Lucy’s ashes yesterday. Unsure at first what to do with them, we’ve kept them since they are in a nameplated urn. She was part of our daily lives for eleven years and there’s unusual silence in the house. She served as a muse at times, odd as that sounds. I thought I’d share … Continue reading Mongrel Hearts
A highlight of my week was having Abraham Smith jump-start the visiting writers series I’m developing for my school. On the day he spoke his new book came out and we got to hear him read from his own work and from greats like Dylan Thomas. I hope my students enjoyed interacting with him as … Continue reading a new denomination ain’t a thing but a name
In order to hone my fiction chops, I decided to join The Five Hundred, a site that presents a prompt every month with the outcome being some form of flash fiction between 400-600 words. Next week, I’ll have a ghazal (based on a “bonus” 100 word prompt) and flash fiction piece called, “In the Cup … Continue reading you’re never too old to apprentice and 7+ pieces of audio inspiration
