Thoughts about writing, and the universe.
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 →
I get wrapped up in my own head sometimes. I twist around my thoughts. Despairing at the world or spinning in moot worries, few things can pull me out of looping thoughts effectively as writing. Writing helps us process our emotions. It is a way to get outside oneself, as it is paradoxically too the... Continue Reading →
I've slowed down. I'm typing a few lines this morning, with vague direction. I've written little this last week--a few brief edits to a short story, an idle look at upcoming submissions windows. What do I have today that I can blog about? Perhaps only that very hitch in my routine: the slowing down, the... Continue Reading →
These enormous slugs. Disgusting, beautiful, unassuming, and everywhere. If self-judgement is alive, it is a pathogen. Risk factors for infection include writing. The exposed words form a nutrient-rich agar for the viral body, which divides and grows from word to paragraph to the whole self. Treatment is haphazard. We manage with uncertain steps. Some say... Continue Reading →
I had a good reminder yesterday. The UWC network has been running a series of webinars these past few weeks from alumni, teachers, National Committee representatives, bringing the community together for discussions and presentations. It's been incredible, seeing the community come alive in this way--I've never felt so connected to the larger UWC network, one... Continue Reading →
This last week at school was a different theme: no classes, the first years busy with a first-aid course and Model United Nations, for which they dressed their best and debated the future of our world. The second-years, meanwhile, had project week, and my husband and I led a small group in a three-day journey... Continue Reading →
My students and I these past two weeks have been exploring language and gender. We have considered how women and men might use language differently (conclusion: any differences there are are slight), and how language represents gender (see this fascinating though unsurprising, and ultimately disturbing look at the words books have most frequently used to... Continue Reading →
I've never had jet lag this bad before. I lie down. My mind is racing. I follow where it goes and end up in some kind of loop. The wind is howling mad outside. I get up, read. It's four a.m. Yesterday, I finally fell asleep at six. I slept til noon. Why this time?... Continue Reading →
I wrote five letters of recommendation for students in the wake of Christmas. Five good students. Five iterations on a form. Five attempts to capture the standout. Five people to reflect upon. I'm not sure I've met a teacher who enjoys writing recommendation letters, although perhaps I just assume. We smile graciously when asked. "I... Continue Reading →
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 →
Words like trees 