Work Posts
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Saturday, September 5th, 2009I have a confession to make. The main reason I’m by nature a poet rather than a fiction writer is that I just can’t stand the day-in/day-out slog at one long project. My moods swing too often from self-confidence-bordering-on-foolhardiness to despair-at-ever-amounting-to-anything. On good days, I feel a genius in my words; on bad days, it’s [...]
Cacophony and Reticence
Saturday, September 5th, 2009Sometimes in his excitement at performing tricks, my little Chihuahua forgets how to speak. His mouth opens, but no sound comes out. The tension is just too great. I have to command him to “hush” so that he can find his bark. Often I feel something similar in sitting down to write. Given the cacophony [...]
15 Seconds of Fame
Saturday, September 5th, 2009“In the future,” Andy Warhol said, “everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” We’ve all chuckled at the cynicism of this witticism about the fleeting nature of fame. But I’d suggest that Warhol saw only the empty shoreline of an ocean of possibility behind that statement. In focusing on the fickleness of public attention, his [...]
Another Gift of the Magi
Saturday, September 5th, 2009One of my daughters is working with the Boys and Girls Club’s SPARK program in Milwaukee, which helps struggling readers age six to nine to reach proficiency at their grade level. Many of these children have every reason to fail: For some, their only daily meal is at school; for others, their home is contaminated [...]
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