Spirit of '76
I turned 10 years old in 1976. That was an important year - America’s Bicentennial! And a presidential election year, where a peanut...
Civil Rights Off the Shoulder
Poets are taught never to explain a poem before delivering it. This is one of those times I'm breaking that rule - mainly because I don't...
Sinking
Oh, Virginia! How I wanted to love you, but I could only ever love the idea of you. Your writing, in college, in all the women's lit...
Of Flowers and Beds
I am a manic, monkey-minded creature, forever on the lookout for ways to achieve a sense of calm. I invest in books with names like Color...
Scratching on Freud
I haven't been reading much Kerouac this week. Or doing any new writing. Spent most of my time playing addictive word games on a Kindle....
A Fancy Word for a Simple Thing
I'm reading Jack Kerouac which surprises me. The book's called Big Sur, written after his fame and late night talk show appearances. It...
American Idiots and Idioms Abroad
The first time I went to Europe was the summer of 1990, in the wake of the Berlin wall's crumbling. I arrived in Germany with a friend...
Cheap Air Travel
On my flight home from New Orleans, I paid for a "snack pack" that included a half ounce Old Wisconsin beef stick, three crackers the...
Growth and Development
When I was in the sixth grade and Ken Roberts called me a "ho" I didn't know what to do. He sat behind me in Mrs. Cathcart's Algebra I...
Conversation Enders
Finally, it happened: I met - well - you know - virtually - my ideal man. His first contact was to answer my "conversation starters."...
