Essays
Alexander Chee
I am reading Alexander Chee’s “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel”. I was drawn to it because much of what I write is autobiographical
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Turning Point
I’ve waited all my life for a particular cusp, a turning point where I would recognize myself as complete - grownup and assured - with a
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Beach Poems
Beach cobalt sky green-blue water surf beating a tan grey shore of shell mosaics salt smell peace #2 fat women, skinny men with red chests
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Captain Arthur
Captain Arthur Jones is among the best of gentleman and a fixture of the Kent Narrows, Maryland landscape. While the seafood industry has produced
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Driving Through Virginia
Driving through Virginia I see abandoned farms roofless silos sprouting trees rotting cow sheds in dense weeds apple trees planted by people now gone
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Earth Poems
We live in a sacred place and We are blind to it Spreading asphalt and soiled McDonald's bags We make loud noises and mar the earth with scars and pits
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Flower Panel
At school we studied the work of many artists, among them the Frenchman Odilon Redon (1840-1916). I remember that I was not drawn to his
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Hotel Rideau
For successive summers in the 1950’s I travelled with my parents, brother, and paternal grandparents for a week-long vacation in Ocean City, MD.
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Joan Didion
I was recently reading Joan Didion’s book “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”. The essay entitled “On Self Respect” hit several notes with me
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Kennett Square
I’ve thought many times of that trip to Pennsylvania in 1958. The outing was arranged at the request of my widowed grandmother who, urged by fleeting
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Paul Klee
I think it is important for artists to experience the work of other artists, not just by viewing their work but also in reading about their point of view, their references;
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The Importance of Notebooks
Books on the craft of writing often suggest that aspiring writers carry a notebook so that they can jot down the ideas, thoughts and sentences that sometimes sprout full
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The War of 1812
The War of 1812 and the decisive battle of Baltimore gave Americans both a new sense of unity and a stirring national anthem. But envision for a moment what it must have been like for simple men
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