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Novel Garden: Swiss Chard

Hello Friends, I've been following the direction of a favorite poet, Jack Ridl, doing this thing where I try to sit in my novel garden (so called for the novel I will never write) and simply notice things, simply "see" the small world of my raised beds with their baby vegetables. Then I just say the "poem" that rises. These are not great poems,

AS LONG AS I KNOW YOU Launches OCTOBER 6!

Mark your calendars for October 6, 5:30-7:30, Kirkbride Hall for a sensational launch of AS LONG AS I KNOW YOU; THE MOM BOOK complete with readings (multiple voices), a song for the book (Miriam Pico and Patrick Niemisto) and the opportunity to support Michigan Writers. The launch is a Michigan Writers fundraiser so every book you buy at the launch will support local writers.

First READING for my new book AS LONG AS I KNOW YOU: The Mom Book

Interlochen Writers Retreat, June 6, 7:00 I'll be reading from my new book AS LONG AS I KNOW YOU: THE MOM BOOK, an award-winning memoir at the Interlochen Writers Retreat, Monday evening, June 6, 7:00. AND I'll be sharing the stage with Eric May, author of the novel BEDROCK FAITHThe Writing House, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI

Watching Plovers Stand on One Leg

Years ago a writer friend asked how I kept my balance in a life with so many demands. She was worried and upset because her life felt off balance, and she felt overburdened, and torn in multiple directions and like so many of us, she had less time left to write than she liked—which was, like so many of us, her great love. She

Mind Work-Brain Rest

The press was waiting and my book was not done. A few years ago, I needed to finish An American Map, a collection of essays I had been putting together for what seemed like years. It was to be my first essay collection, and it was about travel and place, a break from my obsession with the rural memoir. I was thrilled. I

Container of Memoir: Brief Thoughts

This question came from a dearest spirit sister, Katey Schultz, writing instructor extraordinaire, author of the award-winning Flashes of War and Still Come Home. https://kateyschultz.com/We’re both capable teachers but we often turn to each other when we aren’t sure about theoretical responses that rise from specific student questions. I’ve turned to her more times than I can count. But in this case, here’s her

Rare offering!

The once-a-year life writing class will held be next Tuesday (26th) at the beautiful new Interlochen Library. The class is so much fun if you are interested in tell-your-story writing--especially at this time in our lives! Call the library, 231-276-6767 to sign up for the limited in-person class (so we can distance properly). The reading is open to the public and masked. Please

On the Precipice: Pastels and Poems in conversation

 "On the Precipice" pairs nine of Linda Alice Dewey's lovely pastels with nine poems I wrote, inspired by her images and our conversations.  The poems and pastels are now on exhibit at the Oliver Art Center one more week (June 10-25, 2021), in the beautiful small gallery--a quietly meditative space.  In this time when everything seems to be speeding up, and we face the "return"