I just returned from a trip out east visiting old friends and mentors at my MFA program. I also toured the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut. I’ve struggled this summer with my writing, or rather, my inability to sit at the desk and make anything worthwhile happen. After near […]
It was the end of a long day of speakers at the Mazza Museum. All spectacular in their own way. Everyone was tired, but happy to end the day with one last voice, an elderly man in his 90’s, an illustrator, artist, legend: Ashley Bryan. He took the stage slowly, […]
As part of The Lamplighter 2015 Artist Writer Mashup, I have been asked to answer a few questions about myself: Who are you? What experience do you have writing? How did you find Lamplighter? What do you expect to accomplish while participating in the project? So here goes…I am a […]
I’ve been missing from this site all winter. I did so well last year, posting once a month, but the cold, dreary months did me in. I spent much of January, February, and March huddled under blankets on the couch, upstairs in my bed, or at my desk working on […]
Not long ago on a cold night in Columbus, Ohio, I left Max and Erma’s after an enjoyable dinner with two co-workers, stepping carefully down icy steps to the sidewalk that would lead us back to our convention hotel. Without much thought, other than that my hands were cold, I […]
Yesterday, I took part in the Author & Illustrator Fair at the Athens, Ohio Public Library. Great Fun, and a wonderful opportunity to see and hear local talent. The weekend before, I traveled to Hindman Settlement School to write and retreat with another fun group of folks, writers from various […]
Since childhood I have found old cemeteries strangely fascinating. The weatherworn stones that lean at odd angles. The lost names and stories of long gone faces. But I have never been afraid, only curious. These people had lives and dreams just like you, just like me. Did they have regrets? […]
I had never been to New York City until I went to visit my daughter, Morgan, when she was working as an intern at the Today Show in 2012. My visit there was just before Halloween and just before Hurricane Sandy hit. We must have walked miles that long weekend […]
Well, I’ve done it again. Waited until the very last day of the month to post here, but it’s not because I haven’t had anything to say. I’ve just been saying it other places. My goal for this first year of blogging was to post once a month. That seemed […]
This summer has been a blur of activity: visits with my Dad, mountain adventures with my daughter in Kentucky, writing trips to Maine and the Mazza Museum Summer Conference, even surgery and recuperation. Soon I will be heading back to my full-time job in the local school system, which I […]
For a week-and-a-half this June, I focused on writing, nature, good friends, and time away from the everyday. I slept well, woke up happy and excited to discuss books and art and work in progress. I walked, took photographs, laughed, ate good food, drank some wine, and stayed up way […]
I spent the weekend visiting my dad. He’s 86 and finding new ways to move forward each day after losing my mom, his wife, after 60+ years together. He loves circuses and woodworking and figuring things out. Each time I visit him or talk to him on the phone, he […]
April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life… –from The Waste Land T.S. Eliot I never believed April was cruel. I have always […]
In yesterday’s mail, I received a check from a magazine for a poem of mine they had published. Something all writers hope for. Something all writers are grateful for because it is a form of validation. Someone, somewhere liked something I wrote, decided others would like it too, and respected […]
It’s snowing again in southeast Ohio. The snow is beautiful, and I love to look at it, but I am tired of the hassles it brings. I live in the country along a gravel road and up a gravel drive. The road and drive are nearly impossible to navigate in […]
“Through it all, I write. Writing keeps me sane, gives me a way to get it out, get it down. And this place where I live, these hills, those damn horses, the children–my own and my young students–have molded me as a writer, given me a voice. I know without […]
I’ve been thinking about writing a blog, or starting a webpage, for some time, but the fear of trying something new Online stopped me. As my daughters would be happy to tell you, I am not completely comfortable in the computer age. It wasn’t that long ago that I was […]
Five Doors, Three Windows 