Years ago, I whimsically folded a few of my original poems into paper airplanes and flew them into the audience at a reading. People were amused. This happened long ago, in the "Before Times," when no one had heard the names Microsoft or Apple iPhone. It was a simpler era, and yet today I say … Continue reading Free Books
This review is a little long, but there's a surprise at the bottom of the post! If you don't have time for reading, at least scroll down there. . . The first thing you’ll notice about The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is that it’s a big book, 771 pages worth. If you’ve got the hardbound … Continue reading The Goldfinch, a book review
In her dream, Charlotte forgot that her husband was dead. Her dreaming self did seem to know that Rob was absent. In this imagined space, he had left to get out of her way, to allow her to grow into the person she was meant to be. So at the beginning of the dream—or rather … Continue reading Peacock Dreams
I hope summer has been a time of rest, relaxation and fun for you and your loved ones. I suggest we carry that spirit of renewal with us, even as the days grow shorter. With that in mind, click below for a few moments of redemption. If the image is tiny, just click on it, … Continue reading Happy Labor Day Weekend
Thirty-something years ago, I was hiking with friends in the Marin Headlands when we came across a cyclone fence enclosing a small yard. Inside the yard were two or three Doughboy-like pools with seals and sea lions in them. Some friendly signs explained that this was the yard of the Marine Mammal Center, a non-profit … Continue reading The Marine Mammal Center
Written with the prompts: when we first met, onions, and high tide When we first met he was sitting on the beach at high tide throwing sweet yellow onions at the sea gulls. It’s not like I thought, hey, that’s my kind of guy!—but I was intrigued. Nonetheless, I’m no fool so I tried to back away, … Continue reading Deep Fried Romance
On the night train to Paris I looked out the window and saw a school of merpeople practicing lawn tennis. The ghost of Gertrude Stein and the ghost of Alice B. Toklas sat sipping Pinot Noir and munching on olives as the merpeople fantasized about beating Roger at Wimbledon, but the women just laughed and the … Continue reading Night Train
Written with my Thursday group with the prompts: a blur from the beginning, among the garbage and the flowers, half tempted, they’ll never understand, new normal, Margaret needs her own room, I love the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night, fireworks in Madrid, red eye, not fragile like a flower, fragile like … Continue reading Searching
Written with the prompts: monster, did it wander off, but that’s why you want to be there, beautiful but scary, slower and more careful, underwater, he started to cry, a cozy place Memorie is in a cozy pace, propped up with pillows and notebook, iced herbal tea and the most affectionate of her three cats … Continue reading Memorie and the Coyote
Varina is a beautiful book, because Charles Frazier writes some of the most beautiful, lyrical sentences of any author writing prose today. His words force the reader to slow down and savor every lovely description, to open oneself to the metaphors and allegories hidden within. And yet, the book made me uncomfortable. I don’t know … Continue reading Varina by Charles Frazier, a review
