Poet, Writer, Instructor
A long time ago, when I first came across Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “Sestina,” I didn’t realize that the title referred to the poem’s form. I thought that “Sestina” was, perhaps, the grandmother’s first name—a different form, if you will, of the name “Tina” – “In the failing light, the old grandmother / sits in the kitchen with the child.”
At the end of December, 2023, I wrote a blog post about some writing goals I’d set for myself: “I’m more interested in what’s to come, not what’s past. When I ask myself what I want to accomplish as a writer in 2024, the answers come back loud and clear. I want to take more risks in… Continue reading Back to Beginner’s Mind
Mona Lisa is the most-viewed painting in the world. And by art, I mean visual art: paintings, sculpture, photographs, mixed-media, films, buildings, installations, even furniture. Writers need art as much as any other source of inspiration. Art objects are things, and as William Carlos William said, “no ideas but in things.” Art is evidence of… Continue reading Every Writer Needs Art
It’s Tuesday, Day Four of the ice storm that’s paralyzed the Pacific Northwest. I haven’t left the house since Friday, except to tread very carefully on the three-inch thick layer of frozen snow in the backyard to feed my six hens. The hens, showing a level of intelligence hitherto undemonstrated, have refused to exit their… Continue reading Where Do Poems Come From?
"My Bed" by Tracey Emin Tracey Emin has been pushing boundaries since she emerged as one of the Young British Artists of the early 1980s. Prolific and controversial, she’s never been reluctant to use her personal life as inspiration for her art. An article in the 11/3/23 New York Times Weekend Arts section reminded me of the time… Continue reading How a Photograph of Tracy Emin’s “My Bed” Inspired Me
As I was getting ready to leave New York City last week, it occurred to me that much of the art I saw on my trip, from the Statue of Liberty to the majority of the art at the MOMA, was a response to oppression. I started thinking about what it means to live in… Continue reading Pictures & Words: My Visit to New York City
Ekphrasis: (meaning "description" in Greek; expanded to mean "the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device.") Merriam-Webster: a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art I published my first ekphrastic poems in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of Ekphrasis, edited by Laverne Frith and Carol Frith.… Continue reading Words with Pictures: Ekphrasis
Being Present I recently watched The Artist is Present, a documentary about Marina Abramović. Abramović is known as the “grandmother of performance art.” She has cut and burned herself, ingested anti-psychotic drugs, and invited people to manipulate her body with a variety of objects, including “a rose, a feather, honey, a whip, olive oil, scissors,… Continue reading Sticks and Stones: Memoirs About the Writing Life