Writing about place, people, and whatever parts of the universe I'm lucky to see.
I nipped into the ceramics room during my free block the other day, flipped the kiln on so the temperature would show--24 degrees. I flipped it off. I'd left my two bowls at the bottom of the kiln, quick glazed them up last week after five hours of oral exams, until at last I could... Continue Reading →
Today's post moves away a bit from writing. I apologize, even as I violate key blogger advice of "sticking to one's niche." In truth, this post is about what has been making it hard for me to do much writing recently, committed as I remain. Readers, I thank you for sticking with me. I can... Continue Reading →
This post is part of the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop. Read more great posts about writing here! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. The Great Gatsby, Chapter 5 I'm teaching The Great Gatsby this term,... Continue Reading →
Sunset above Denmark. Summer is done for me. A week of workshops with colleagues, a week's orientation for new students. The fjord is bursting now with a world-full of teenagers, and they have come loaded down with suitcases and nerves, excitement and their blue-toothed boomboxes, their overwhelmed emails, overwhelming excitement, their homesickness, fledgling independence, their... Continue Reading →
Harsh feedback taken too personally caused me to stop writing for four years. Angry, afraid, but mostly ashamed, the voice of self-doubt grew enormous in me, any time I had an idea or a vague vision of a story--hold off, I told myself. Wait to write the perfect thing. So many of the barriers to... Continue Reading →
On Thursday morning, at the patisserie Poppella, I wrote this in my journal: I'm so overwhelmed by Naples. It's so busy. I feel like I'll be trampled when I walk on the street. Everything is dirty. Garbage is all over the streets. I'm afraid to take out my computer. I'm afraid someone will take it.... Continue Reading →
In the eastern parts of Umbria, the land lofts up from fertile valleys into rich-forested mountains. These are the Apennines, a range I'd heard mentioned before but knew nothing of, a string of low mountains stretching the full length of the Italian peninsula. Yesterday, on a recommendation from our Italian language teacher, we drove out... Continue Reading →
In January of 2016, a dear friend gave me the gift of a little Daruma doll. Growing out of Japanese Zen Buddhist tradition, the idea with these figurines [and the one I received is very minimalist compared to many of them] is to encourage perseverance and working towards a goal. When one sets a goal,... Continue Reading →
The four faces of revising. Yesterday, I completed a first draft of rewrites to my novel manuscript. It's been three months since I began, thirteen chapters of new material, and copious reworking of the existing. It's a celebration, to be sure, and I'm content to bask in the glory of a milestone passed for a... Continue Reading →
A short post this week. I'm skiing for a few days with students in the mountains, where the snow is still thick although the air has warmed. We bussed here this morning along the Nordfjord's shores, through rocky valleys and mountain passes, and crossed the snow line just below camp. The Nordic students step into... Continue Reading →
Jimmy Kindree 