Archive

It’s time to up the ante. I live in a country that has now been at war for more than a quarter of my lifetime. Children who are in 4th grade right now have never lived a day in this country [...]

It’s a tradition, they say. Summer Arts Camp at Interlochen is synonymous with blue, corduroy knickers. This, from the HR Director: “Just wait until everyone arrives. The campus looks like a [...]

The filmmaker and I are listening to Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” because we’re both still high from meeting Daniel Pearl. The grill is going, steak and portabella’s primed, our signature [...]

All week long I’ve been able to feel my mind expanding. Interlochen hosted its annual Future of Cinema Film Festival this week. There is much overlap between writing and motion picture arts, so [...]

Last week I drove to the local VFW (Veteran’s of Foreign Wars) to meet an active-duty NCO in the National Guard. He served in Afghanistan from 2006-2007 and agreed to meet with me to discuss [...]

I recently composed a “letter of interest” for a residency application and part of my essay seems worth sharing here: A writer’s work is never wholly solitary. While the image of a paper-ridden [...]

Residencies: No from Wurlizter Foundation (3-month residency in Taos, NM). Nearing the final decisions from Fishtrap 2011 WIR position and I’m still in the running (eastern Oregon). Re-applied to [...]

As soon as I got up there, all my nervousness dissipated. What a relief! I felt comfortable at the podium—imagine that! Now all I have to do is get better at not bringing on fits of anxiousness [...]

Of course, my third visit comes from Leon Hammerhead, who calls me up and takes me out to drinks at the Hofbrau just down the road. He knows all the servers and is surprised to see that I do too. [...]

My second mentor comes to me in the best possible way: Monday afternoon, my day off, a phone call and invitation to go find the Sleeping Bear of Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. This from poet goddess [...]