Resilience can go an awful long way. – Eddie the Eagle Someone told me recently that I possess a quality I had never thought much about: resilience. A memory from childhood came to mind. I was born in New York…
Thoughts on Resilience
Unemployment: Six Weeks In and a New Idea
The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck. – Ralph Waldo Emerson Six weeks of unemployment has prompted some soul-searching that I’m sure many others are experiencing. I’ve edited my LinkedIn profile at least…
Remembering Michael Steinberg: My Teacher, My Friend
It’s difficult to know how to add my voice to the those of the writers and friends who have been remembering and praising Michael Steinberg. On December 9 the writing community — especially the creative nonfiction community — lost someone…
When You Have to Leave to Come Back: Honoring My Own Voice
The early mornings are cooling off in Boston. For a time in July it was too hot to sit out behind our house with a cup of hot coffee in the mornings. That’s changing now; I can enjoy a little…
Why, In the Midst of Chaos, Did I Write About a Feral Cat?
Why do animals and wildlife figure so prominently in my writing? An interviewer asked me that question recently. At the time I answered the best way I could, but I have thought a lot about that question over the past…
Writers in the Trenches: Jasen Sousa on Surviving, and Thriving
The very first time I heard Jasen Sousa read, I knew he was something special. Something different. His energy and rhythm were those of a young rapper, and his topic that day was a woman lost, a story from the…
Writers in the Trenches: Talking Writing and Photography with Pushcart-Nominated Essayist Jim Kennedy
Jim Kennedy’s creative nonfiction essay “End of the Line” is one of the most powerful pieces of writing I’ve ever had the privilege to read or teach. Published in the highly respected journal Creative Nonfiction, nominated for a Pushcart Prize,…
For Sara
In truth, I hardly know her. We met 10 years ago, at one of the bi-annual writing residencies required to complete our low-residency MFA program. We didn’t attend the same workshops; Sara was studying fiction, and I was focused on…