Blog Posts

  • “A hobby that swallows you up” – An evening with Billy Collins

    The JFK Library and Museum runs fabulous and fascinating evening events, and last month I was thrilled to  go hear Billy Collins (former US Poet Laureate, a title he enjoys saying, apparently, and who can blame him?) read some of his work and have a conversation about poetry and writing and reading of same. The…

  • Recent Reads (and a moment of cute)

    As much reading and writing as I do in front of a screen these days, it’s still nice to curl up in a sunny corner that has *just enough* shade and enjoy the feel of a book in hand.  (I get so much reading done in the spring!)  Here are a few of the books…

  • A Change is as good as a Line Break

    You know that a public space is inviting if there are people in there every time you walk by.  When that space is a quiet area in a back corner of a museum set aside for poetic contemplation and respite, you make invisible fist pumps of joy and plan to come back later when you…

  • Inspiration or frustration? Workshop “do’s and don’t’s” from the MA Poetry Fest

    Any teacher knows that a one hour window in which to teach does not actually involve a full hour’s useful time.  If you’re lucky and you have dedicated learners, by the time you get everyone settled and have introduced the topic, you have maybe 50 minutes at best.  I’m stating this up front, because I…

  • Mental and Emotional Geography: MA Poetry Fest Reactions 2

    What is it about a place that grabs hold of the imagination?  Is there some magical combination of language and  association and vista and memory that makes a place ‘real’?  Is one city the same to different people and are we the same person in one city as we are somewhere else?  Just what do…