I'll be in conversation with Patricia Ann McNair (award-winning book, Responsible Adults) at the Notebook Collective on September 20, 7:30-9:00 Here's the link. https://thenotebookscollective.com/event/in-conversation-anne-marie-oomen/ ...
Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, and I’m eavesdropping on two kids, maybe just under and just over ten, the girl older by a bit. They stare at the chocolate covered cherry samples which Cherry Republic sets out in daring generosity. Because free samples of chocolate covered cherries draw children like flies, these are offered at the back of the store, in sight of the folks...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
"books by poets of color I most admire"...
This poem was written for a collection of ten poems collected from poets all over Michigan, celebrating water and published for FLOW's annual recognition event. Only WaterHow do I explain this?Something kestrel-like and light, yetdoused. He wanted us to rise as kites, fall like rain.How do I explain him wading in to his thighs, me followingto my chest, him lacing his fingers,me facing...
Performed with Ari Mokdad and Elizabeth Schulman (choreographers) at Detroit Dance City Festival, August 2019. Water Gratitude Listen beyond your ears. Listen inside the bowl, from the cradle of the Niagara Escarpment.Listen. The voices of five lakes, five senses. Beings. Listen to the thrum of our Deep Time,to the words inside the wet journey,to the knowing inside our waves. Listen to the molecular change—What...