With winter only a few weeks away, I started thinking of modern poet Wallace Stevens after reading Benjamin Glass's excellent commentary on the 32 Poems blog. Here's an excerpt: Perhaps I read Stevens this time of year because his poems reflect the only type of Christmas atmosphere I can endure: mostly solemn, mostly isolated, and … Continue reading Wallace Stevens’ Winter
Category: Creative Writing
Preempting the Holiday Blues, Part II: Simplicity
Yesterday Jeff and I went to see the new movie version of "Anna Karenina." Although I might have preferred a more traditional take on the novel (the movie kept pushing the concept of "life is a stage," which I feel has been done to death), the cinematography was sumptuous and the costumes luxe with pearls, … Continue reading Preempting the Holiday Blues, Part II: Simplicity
Preempting The Holiday Blues
Yesterday as we left my mother's house, where we spent the afternoon enjoying lunch and decorating her Christmas tree (yup, we don't waste any time...), my six-year-old daughter commented with great melancholy, "The holidays go by so fast." It was funny, but also sad that she felt that way while we were still enjoying Thanksgiving … Continue reading Preempting The Holiday Blues
Giving thanks…with E.E. Cummings
I am fortunate that in everything I do, there are people behind me offering a hand. When I was cranky and sick this weekend, Jeff took the girls out so I could curl up in a blanket and cough in peace. When I painted the living room, kitchen and dining room in the past few … Continue reading Giving thanks…with E.E. Cummings
“Storm of the century” redux (didn’t we just do this?)
After a derecho this summer and another major storm just a month ago, we're again preparing for what's been dubbed "Frankenstorm," a wide swath of rain and snow that's likely to paralyze the East Coast for days. We're charging our electronics, making tons of ice to keep refrigerator food cold, moving items in the basement … Continue reading “Storm of the century” redux (didn’t we just do this?)
“The way things work:” reconstruction and Jorie Graham
I'm having some sort of mid-life crisis when it comes to my house. Suddenly I want to change everything: rip shelves out, move the furniture, paint every room a different color. Last night I spent hours perusing paint web sites, trying hundreds of colors on the online walls. And today I bought paint samples, despite … Continue reading “The way things work:” reconstruction and Jorie Graham
“our century ends on pure speed:” the poetry of flight
By now, you've probably heard about Felix Baumgartner, who successfully completed a free fall from the edge of space on Sunday. (More details are here.) I'm relieved that the multiple things that could have gone wrong didn't, that he got to experience the sight of that enormous sphere, and feel as much as a human being … Continue reading “our century ends on pure speed:” the poetry of flight
The virtues of older houses
I spent much of this weekend trying to make our 1942 house - with its tiny closets, single bathroom, and many quirks - function better in our current lives. My youngest daughter is almost three and now largely trained in what not to do - pull books from bookshelves, dump contents of drawers - so … Continue reading The virtues of older houses
The Harvest
Yesterday we went apple-picking in the Virginia countryside, bringing home 16 pounds (!) of apples. Looking for recipes... I've been reading Little House in the Big Woods to my daughter, and l love the details of the family's preparation for the winter: stocking the cellar with home-grown root vegetables; hanging smoked, wild game meat from pegs … Continue reading The Harvest
Fall for the Book lineup: Danielle Cadena Deulen’s “Lovely Asunder”
This week, I'm talking about some of the poets who will be reading in next week's DC-area literary festival, Fall for the Book. (You can find the schedule here.) I've been reading Danielle Cadena Deulen's Lovely Asunder, which was the 2011 winner of the Miller Williams Arkansas Poetry Prize. Deulen's graceful lyric voice draws us into these … Continue reading Fall for the Book lineup: Danielle Cadena Deulen’s “Lovely Asunder”
Between Gods 