I love the 4th of July. No, not because of hot dogs, watermelons, and fireworks, although those are certainly lovely, but because I believe the founding of our country was miraculous and of tremendous import to both future Americans and numerous others of the world. I do not believe this to be jingoism on my … Continue reading Independence Day and Abigail
Literary Texas: Sandra Cisneros
I am a woman, and I am a Latina. Those are the things that make my writing distinctive. —Sandra Cisneros In 2015, Texas State University's Alkek Library acquired Sandra Cisneros’ literary archive. The archive, housed at the Wittliff Collections, includes manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, journals, and numerous other items pertaining to her life and work, a … Continue reading Literary Texas: Sandra Cisneros
Writing About Writing
And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” —William Shakespeare W I have been in San Antonio much of the week and have wanted to write a Literary Texas post on Sandra Cisneros. Though Cisneros originally hailed from Chicago, … Continue reading Writing About Writing
Nature’s Art
A slender petal venturing into the world. Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. --Albert Einstein While we are in the last throes of spring in my part of the country, I cannot help but marvel at nature's beauty ("God's handwriting"--Emerson.) As I've written already, lush grasses and colorful wildflowers sweep … Continue reading Nature’s Art
O Captain! My Captain!
Today I would like to celebrate Memorial Day by posting a couple of poems by Walt Whitman, long considered one of America’s foremost poets. The following poem," O Captain! My Captain!", was written contemporarily to memorialize the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. I think it is a fitting poem for Memorial Day in commemoration … Continue reading O Captain! My Captain!
A Long Journey Ends with a Special Memory
I must admit that I have been looking for a shortcut to writing this blog lately. I usually would have already written another post by now, but the last days and weeks have been busy and tiring. I have several writing projects going on right now and am in the midst of checking edits for … Continue reading A Long Journey Ends with a Special Memory
Spring
Although fall is my favorite season, spring is none too shabby itself. In fact, when we are blessed with the generous rains we often are in spring, Central Texas explodes into lush greens and bursts into wild blues, yellows, reds, whites, and pinks along roadsides, parks, and throughout pastures. It is a glorious time of … Continue reading Spring
Why We Write
The very reason I write is so that I might not sleepwalk through my entire life. Zadie Smith I have just completed the Pike’s Peak Writer’s Conference in Colorado Springs. No, it was not atop the famous mountain. I am high-altitude and deep drop-offs averse, though admiring the snow-crested Pike’s Peak with my feet firmly … Continue reading Why We Write
Those Gentle Times
“In this modern world where activity is stressed almost to the point of mania, quietness as a childhood need is too often overlooked. Yet a child’s need for quietness is the same today as it has always been—it may even be greater—for quietness is an essential part of all awareness. In quiet times and in … Continue reading Those Gentle Times
Literary Texas: John Graves, Part 2
A limestone ledge on a stream near Hardscrabble, John Graves’ former ranch. “April and May can be magnificent with birdsong and wildflowers and greenery gone crazy, and if good rains come in late August or September, as they often do, early fall can be a sort of verdant second spring before frosts turn red and … Continue reading Literary Texas: John Graves, Part 2