This is a Letter
This is a letter to martinis, chicken liver pate and Girl Scout cookies. To late night games of Blitz and Hangman on my Iphone. This is a letter to the small corner of the bed that I unfold each night, a cotton envelope that I slip myself into. This is a letter to the...
The Power of Asking
A couple of years ago, right after my Dad died, I fell into this funny mid-life thing where I felt really flat about teaching – felt in fact that I had taught everything I knew how to teach – that I was doing it with my eyes closed and it wasn’t serving me or anyone...
Advice to Myself
Advice to Myself - Louise Erdrich Leave the dishes. Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor. Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster. Throw the cracked bowl out and don't patch the cup....
Advice to Myself - Louise Erdrich Leave the dishes. Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor. Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster. Throw the cracked bowl out and don't patch the cup....
The Flammable Years
So much of any year is flammable. Where does it go? A slide show of images out of time and in no particular order. Living with Brian and Carolyn on College Avenue. Going to CCAC. Eating ramen every day. The night I met Mark, 24 years ago at the East Bay Express...
What is Your Superpower?
Today’s Blog Post is in honor of my dear friend Andrea Scher, proprietor of Superhero Life – which debuts its brand new website TODAY! Not only is the site one of the most beautifully designed websites I've seen in a long time - but Andrea's super creative juju is all...
How I Had the Courage to Wear a Bikini this Summer
Like a lot of people, I got caught up in my share of the summer Olympics. I watched a man with one leg sprint like a gazelle around a soft, clay track. I saw beefy guys in little kayaks slaloming down big water obstacle courses. I saw lithe, teenage swimmers pop out...
Superheros!
Andrea Scher's Superhero Interview with Laurie Wagner is right here! So cool! So fun! What I value most in a person is honesty and authenticity, and so I aim for that as best I can. But it’s more than just a set of values, the truth is, I simply can’t tolerate the lie...
Starfish as Muse
If you’re like a lot of people, you mean to create a writing practice, but when you make time to sit down and write, you’re not always sure where to begin. You might even have a story idea – something that happened to you that you want to write about - but getting...
What Racquetball Teaches Me About Creativity
This post was inspired by watching a number of my students sink after what they considered a less-than-stellar session of writing. It is dedicated to them and to anyone who makes things: art, stories, pie. It is a note to the part of ourselves that gets frustrated...