Last week I was listening to a podcast in which the speaker quoted a Buddhist teacher he’d once had, who said “You don’t have to like everyone you meet. You just have to love them.” Yeesh! The idea of loving everyone, no matter who, no matter what they’ve done to others, themselves, the world, me, … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Rolf Jacobsen
Once, out to dinner with a friend, I noticed a woman sitting at the far opposite end of the restaurant. It was a big, softly-lit place and she was indistinct, but every time I looked at her she made me happy – how she leaned forward to talk, how she tipped her head back when … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Annie Lighthart
A few weeks ago in a long line at the grocery store I felt a small weight against my legs. A toddler was leaning against me with the unassuming peace that comes only in the presence of their parent. Except that I wasn’t this child’s mother –she was in the next line over–and the look … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Aracelis Girmay
Three spots open in our last Zoom workshop of the fall, The Gift of Words, next Saturday, November 20. I’d love to see you there. Check the class out here. Last week I was walking along a narrow channel between Lake of the Isles and Lake Bde Maka Ska when I came upon a tiny child clinging … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Todd Dillard
Sometimes people email me about Someday, a picture book I wrote for adults, with subject lines like “You made me cry in line at Target.” Once, a parent sent me a Youtube link to their child reading Someday aloud to them. A few pages in, the child, who couldn’t have been more than five or … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Sarah Freligh
Four spots open in each of our two remaining one-day workshops next month – I’d love to see you there. Check them out here. When my kids were tiny and one of them or their friends fell and hurt themselves, they would all cry in sympathy. I remember them touching their scrapes to my body, as … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Robin Rosen Chang
Four spots open in each of our two remaining one-day workshops next month – I’d love to see you there. Check them out here. Long ago, I went to look at a little house for sale on a lake. My realtor and I showed up at the appointed time but the homeowner was still there. She … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Robert Hedin
Two spots open in our Freedom of Form workshop tomorrow, and five spots each in our two remaining one-day creative writing workshops next month – I’d love to see you there. Check them out here. Me talking to me: Alison! For God’s sake, respond to all those piled-up emails. Clean up the kitchen. Teach yourself the … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Hailey Leithauser
Check out my one-day creative writing workshops this month and next – spots are still open in most of them and I’d love to see you in one! Last Monday my daughter and I sat side by side on a gray couch, both of us working on our laptops while rain poured down the windows. … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Grace Cavalieri
Spots are still open in most of our one-day workshops this fall – maybe you should treat yourself to a class! Check them out here and let me know if you’re interested. I’d love to see you in one. When I first read this poem, by the wondrous Ada Limon, it turned me still and focused … Continue reading Poem of the Week, by Ada Limon
Goodies from my mailbox and camera
Telling all sides of the parenting story
Waking Up to Your Dreams
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
Alison McGhee 