Beautiful Sentence #11 ~ Nathan Englander
“And Author, who has played bigger and larger, who has, under all the pressure in the world, executed such evenings with aplomb, wipes his nose on his sleeve, takes a deep breath, and–leaning down close to the little book–reads on with all he’s got.” -Nathan Englander, “The Reader,” from What We Talk About When We Talk […]
The Writer’s Handful with Christine Sneed
Mondays + Writers = Finally something to look forward to. Christine Sneed is enjoying a good run. Her fine collection of short stories Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry has won a bunch of incredibly impressive awards. Her new, funny, and smart novel, Little Known Facts, is generating great buzz. And just a little bit […]
July 3, 2013: Florence Update
One week away from our first Journal and Sketchbook class here in Florence. Everything groovy except that the wifi doesn’t seem to like to post photos to my WordPress blog. So for now, and for an experiment, I am linking to a slideshow from Philip’s blog and of student work from our last Journal and […]
Sometimes You Do Things ~ A Journal Prompt Response by Cyn Vargas
Every now and again visitors to my blog share with me the writing they do that comes from the site’s daily journal prompts. I have posted a number of these pieces in the past, and will continue to do so in the future. It is very satisfying for me to know that some little thing […]
He Played the Guitar ~ By Lindsay
He played guitar. In a small string band. On street corners with his panama straw hat upturned on the ground before them hoping to collect small monies from those passing on Catfish Street. I kept my window open all summer, the smell of the river drifting in on the air, and my ears sharp for […]
A View From the Keyboard of Gore Vidal
In writing and politicking, it’s best not to think about it, just do it. – Gore Vidal, b. October 3, 1925 – d. July 31, 2012
Engaged in a Civic Discourse ~ Pat and Chuck Wemstrom’s View From the Keyboard
Pat and Chuck Wemstrom make their home in the country outside of Mount Carroll, IL where Philip and I have a part-time residence. The area is filled with kind, friendly, generous people, many of whom are a bit conservative in their world view. Philip and I, descendants of hard-core lefties, took a few years to […]