My Cheever Summer

This summer I have been reading John Cheever. I have seen him called “the Chekhov of the suburbs” – a title that might also fit another John (Updike). I grew up in the suburbs, though a more modern version than Cheever’s, but I still can identify with his people and places. The stories are middle-class

Paris After the Breakup

I’ve been to Paris twice. The first time was after I had a breakup with my college boyfriend of two years. My girlfriend suggested we go to Paris when the spring semester ended and meet some romantic French guys and forget about our boyfriends. She had broken up with a guy recently too, but they

Rereading

“The book is the same every time, but I am different, so what it offers me is different.” That’s a quote from a piece by Jessie Gaynor on “Rereading The Corrections While Navigating Her Mother’s Parkinson’s.” I have been rereading and listening to audio versions of books I read years ago, especially books I haven’t

Dark Matter

I’m not a science-fiction fan of the hardcore variety but I have read a good number of books from that part of the bookstore, and I have seen a lot of TV and movies with that label. I am a fan of Jennifer Connelly, and so this week I will be watching Dark Matteron Apple

A Cure for the Common Cold: Audiobooks

Over the holiday break from teaching, I got sick. Not COVID, RSV, or the flu, just a very bad cold. No magic medicine, said the doctor. So, it was soup and tea and lots of tissues and the humidifier. I had headaches the first few days so I didn’t want to write or read. (Though

Stopping by Woods

This week’s weather looks to be warmer but we have had pretty regular snow here in January. Not huge storms but lots of overnight snow that gives my world a nice coating. I was reading about a new book, A Shining, by Jon Fosse which sounds like a story that focuses more on imagery than

Pooh’s Birthday

I haven’t been in much of a writing mood lately. But today I saw that it is Pooh’s birthday and that made me feel slightly happier than when I woke up.

Tom Hanks Learns What Writing Is. Sort Of.

Hanks did an interview on his 67th birthday. He has a debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. I don’t love that title. It’s awkward. But who doesn’t love Tom Hanks? I’ll watch any film he makes and I like 85% of his filmography with a few in my top ten of

Reading By the River

A picnic lunch by the river, reading Thoreau…

Erasure

Recently, I was given the writing prompt of an erasure poem. My submission didn’t make the cut, but the prompt did get me looking at some erasure poems that were interesting. Chase Berggrun’s, R E D, is a full-length erasure of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Erasure poetry is a form of found poetry. You take an