The Necklace – Osip Mandelstam (1920; translated from the Russian by Christian Wiman) Take, from my palms, for joy, for ease, A little honey, a little sun, That we may obey Persephone’s bees. You can’t untie a boat unmoored. Fur-shod shadows can’t be heard, Nor terror, in this life, mastered. Love, what’s left for us, … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Osip Mandelstam
Diagnosis: Birds in the Blood – Anna Journey The hummingbird’s nervous embroidery through beach fog by our back patio’s potato vine reminds me of my mother’s southern drawl from the kitchen: She’s flying, flying like bird! I’ve heard that as a child I involuntarily flapped my hands at my side during moments of intense concentration. … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Anna Journey
An acquaintance asks you if you have any words of wisdom to contribute for a talk she’s giving on the topic of “Building a Writing Life.” You start to tap out a bunch of little bromides along the lines of a) make a practice of writing regularly, b) look at writing as a process rather … Continue reading Plan B
PICTURE BOOK WRITING WORKSHOP Greetings, writers! Any of you picture book writers out there still feeling isolated? I’m offering another one-day picture book manuscript workshop on Saturday, April 7. We’ll talk about the fascinating/fiendish (take your pick) specific challenges of writing these fabulous little books, including the essential elements of picture book writing: characters, story … Continue reading Another Picture Book Writing Workshop, Saturday, April 7
Outside Thermalito – D.A. Powell Persimmons ripen with the first frost. The bitterness inflicted on them takes their bitterness away. Would that there were some other way. — For more information on D.A. Powell, please click here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/da-powell — Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Alison-McGhee/119862491361265?ref=ts Blog: alisonmcghee.com/blog Continue reading Poem of the Week, by D.A. Powell
On James Baldwin and Diverse Literature
Putting those recalcitrant toddler cancer cells to bed...
your own PDK for writing
a collection of beautiful words.....
Objects, Memory and Meaning
If it can't be said in a hundred words, then it can't be said in a thousand.
sewing a handmade wardrobe
"drink from the well of your self and begin again" ~charles bukowski
Musings on poetry, language, perception, numbers, food, and anything else that slips through the cracks.
Thoughts on the world around me
the literary asylum
Bipolar is my superpower
