I turned 10 years old in 1976. That was an important year - America’s Bicentennial! And a presidential election year, where a peanut...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

Finally, it happened: I met - well - you know - virtually - my ideal man. His first contact was to answer my "conversation starters."...