Category Archives: Uncategorized

Teachers, editors, agents, and publishers all tell writers to find The Hook, better known as the first line of any piece of writing, to lure their readers into a story, a novel, a memoir, or a poem. What arrests and … Continue reading →

Writer’s look for stories. But just as often stories find us. And sometimes the stories wait within until we have the capacity to let them speak, whether we turn them into memoir or fiction or poem. The first morning of … Continue reading →

Here we are just entering the small touch of the new year’s light. And yet, the skies and our creative spirits can still hold gloom. It’s hard to believe in the spark of ideas when we feel closed in. So … Continue reading →

Critique: borrowed from French, borrowed from Latin critica, borrowed from Greek kritiké: discerning, capable of judging. What does it mean to be capable of judging the art of writing? In college I was given an assignment to choose a writer … Continue reading →

Twenty-eight years ago Elie Wiesel and Maya Angelou had a conversation that focused on what the Black and Jewish communities hold in common, especially regarding racism, hate, and oppression. This exchange of ideas took place in a stadium of 10,500 … Continue reading →

The poet William Carlos Williams said, “No idea but in things.” He then gave us the red wheelbarrow upon which so much depends. What was he telling us? This is one of those enigmatic statements that creates mystery around the … Continue reading →

One summer I took myself to see Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry, starring a very young Shirley MacLaine. I bought my ticket in the lobby along with a package of Snow Caps and entered the theater. I gauged the … Continue reading →

The summer high school poets asked how to know where to break a poetic line. They examined and discussed the issues of complete thoughts; controlling rhythm; creating emphasis; the rules of prepositions, conjunction, and articles; and helping the reader to … Continue reading →

It’s a premier summer day, my thoughts are bumping around in no particular direction. I stand at the edge of a pond hoping for inspiration but doing nothing to encourage it. A small dragonfly alights on my arm and stays. … Continue reading →

I hate losing anything. I arrived in Jeannie’s town and got on the school bus. I was a Sophomore, and this was my fourth high school. Jeannie touched my arm as I walked down the center aisle with a pit … Continue reading →