Writing about place, people, and whatever parts of the universe I'm lucky to see.
As the end of May approaches, I have been springing ahead to try to meet my monthly writing goals. I set these goals at the beginning of the year in order to keep myself making progress on my writing journey. I posted an update in January, but the months have been racing by and it... Continue Reading →
Last weekend, my husband and I took a short hike up the first slope of the mountain next to campus, to where a lookout point shows campus like a toy village, to where the valley as a whole structure becomes visible, and the lip of distant mountains, not visible from the valley floor, peaks over... Continue Reading →
We have catapulted into spring this week, with warmth and sun bounding forth. The trees, which have been holding their thousand green fists tight for weeks against the cold, they now are opening their fingers. The waterfalls have been reduced to trickles. The students are abuzz with life (exams are nearly finished; last night was... Continue Reading →
I'm forever more a planner when I write. Perhaps not down to the minute detail, and certainly my plans change as I go along, but I like to have a basic outline of plot events and thematic points that I expect the story to take up. I make long documents for planning, pages and paragraphs... Continue Reading →
I'm writing this shorter post this week on the first of May, a bright and sunny Saturday in this string we have been having of sun and brilliant blue sky days, despite continued cold. Today, I'll be joining the first year students for the yearly hike up Jarstadheia, the local mountain, about 1900 feet. So... Continue Reading →
Yesterday evening, students gathered together for the annual Poetry Slam event. It isn't really a poetry slam. It's something brilliant and beautiful in a different way. Our students come from about ninety countries, and the vast majority have learned English as an additional language. Unfortunately in an English-medium school, the staggering linguistic diversity of our... Continue Reading →
"Happily ever after" is an age-old trope, and we know that reality is subtler than that. The ending of a story does not mean the rest of life will run smoothly. But a happily-ever-after ending makes sense in fiction: because the story at some point has to end, and an ending that reads, "And life... Continue Reading →
On Friday, I received this package in the mail. Somehow, brilliantly, two beautiful contributor copies of Hunger Mountain, published by the Vermont College of Fine Arts had made their way across the ocean. I slid them from their paper wrapping. They were heavy. They were large. I cradled a copy in my hands, opened it,... Continue Reading →
We have a short spring break this year, and with Covid numbers at their highest yet in Norway, any travel is confined to the local area. I have been using the time to write, read, cook, and hike. Although it is still cold, some very welcome sunshine the last two days sent us out onto... Continue Reading →
My husband is not a reader. While I wade up to my eyes through stories, he stays dry. We are different people, and that is fine, but I have wondered for years precisely why he doesn't love to read--to me it seems so natural. To me, it is necessary. He has told me sometimes, that... Continue Reading →
Jimmy Kindree 