Sometimes it is by going back (often thanks to new translations) to study a timeless and ancient text that I find the most timely and relevant wisdom about the writing craft. During a recent bookshelf purge, I unearthed not one but two copies of Lu Chi’s Wen Fu (The Art of Writing). One is a slim brown…
I confess: I’ve never read any fiction by Stephen King. I’ve seen at least one of his stories that was made into a movie—“Stand By Me”—and parts of “Carrie” way back when—I’m remembering the high school prom night scene in particular and Sissy Spacek not having the best of times….
There are so many avenues to what one can easily call “failure” in this so-called writing life. A while back, I rearranged many aspects of my life so I could more easily prostrate myself on the altar of the written word, figuring that was a surefire way to get the work done…
I’m a shameless devotee of everything Oscar [1] in the short month or so between when nominations are announced and the little gold men are handed out at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. I try to see most of the nominated movies…
Long before the American economy went into its current version of freefall, I’d taken to wondering how you could realistically run a country on…shopping. That sounds nuts and like over-simplification at best but this has become the opinion of many smart, in-the-know, best-and-the-brightest as to what has gotten…
It’s been one week and a handful of hours since Obama became our 44th President. Seven short days and climate change, torture, ethics, and a …
It was lovely to hear Elizabeth Alexander read her poem, “Praise Song for the Day”, written for the occasion of Barack Obama’s inauguration. But somehow it fell flat for me; maybe it was because of where it came during the Inauguration Program…
A few years ago, a graduate school friend who now teaches in a low-residency writing program was working on a panel about “Late Bloomers” for the Associated Writing Program’s…
Is it me or does life’s decibel level seem to increase exponentially during the December holidays? It’s not only the music—“Frosty the Snowman” to a reggae beat or the Chipmunks’ version of “Jingle Bells.” Whenever I venture out and about in the world, I encounter more people, more cars…
I have been cleaning the house for days. When I first started, there was a real need, the fact that we would be hosting our belated housewarming on Sunday afternoon. But once that was over—and the post-party cleanup had taken place as well—I found that I simply kept going…
