Life in the time of Covid isn’t normal. Just in case you didn’t know. My 92-year-old (93 next month) dad had a couple procedures yesterday. The hospital board had to approve them as essential. Because his memory is shorter than an inchworm these days, my sister scattered notes around–“yes” on the coffeepot, “yes” on the […]
The Yellow Wall-Paper: A Graphic Novel
In all my 71 years, I’d never heard of The Yellow Wall-paper. I’d never heard of its author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, either. Also, I never pay attention to graphic novels–which is odd since I like comic strips (well, some of them) and used to enjoy comic books as a child–as well as spreading out those […]
I Quit
I quit. I came by here for a visit and found it’s been six months, almost seven, since I’ve strung any words together in this space. Because I quit. I keep getting new visitors, though. And views on my Facebook page–where I haven’t posted in the same amount of time. Because I quit. Actually, does […]
Commit Poetry: Kindness
We have seen kindness in action during the last several weeks. My 16-year-old grand girl, Gracee AKA Grace AKA Amazing Grace, was in a serious car accident in June. I’ve been in Michigan (I forgot to mention where I actually was in the below video) since then to help in her recovery. While here, I’ve […]
Commit Poetry: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Since I turned 70 earlier in the year, I’ve had to accept I’m way, way past midlife. But some say that 70 is the new 40 (or is it 50?), and my own midsummer night’s dream is one of looking and feeling young(er) for lots of years. So I’ve started walking again–at least two miles […]
First Words Friday: Week 11 – 2019 – Charlotte’s Web
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Have you read it? If so, did you read it as a child or as an adult? In the foreword of the 60th anniversary edition, author Kate DiCamillo confesses she didn’t read it until she was 31 years old. The cover of the book scared her. But then “I was […]
FIRST WORDS FRIDAY: WEEK 10 – 2019 – THE NUN’S STORY
The Nun’s Story by Kathryn C. Hulme, copyright 1956, was a Book of the Month Club selection that reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list. My friend’s dad, who was our mailman, tucked it in our mailbox addressed to my great-grandmother. I read her books–maybe not when I was 7, but a little […]
First Words Friday: Week 9 – 2019 – Anna Karenina
I was scrolling through my Kindle (which I hardly every look at) this morning and found I had downloaded a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It’s been years–and years and years and years–since I read it. These words reminded me of why I downloaded it to begin with. Because seriously, how can one not […]
First Words Friday: Week 8 – 2019 – The Velveteen Rabbit
For the month of love, here are some first words from a not-for-children-only classic, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This is a longer selection (okay it’s super long), but it’s okay as the book is in the public domain. When she was 19 years old, Williams decided she wanted to make a living at […]
First Words Friday: Week 7 – 2019 – A Wrinkle in Time
I’m taking another workshop through Tweetspeak Poetry called Writing Toward Joy and led by the incomparable Megan Willome. We are working our way through Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time by making florilegia–bouquets of sparkling text that we create out of sentences that jump out at us. We then try to see what new connections […]
