Not too long ago, I began writing a psychological mystery about an internet-famous dog trainer who does public performances (think Super Collies). Then, at a mystery writers’ conference, an editor begged me […]
There was once a time when I did not live without the specter of illness around every corner? I lived a life that wasn’t conditional on the spread of a virus? I spent almost five decades making plans that weren’t likely to be cancelled anywhere, any time, with little notice, because of a nasal-swabbed test result? Could it be true?
Have you made a New Year’s Resolution to be more creative? Are you at a bit of a loss on how to make it happen? Have you already broken your promise to […]
Parties, gatherings, travel, theme park visits, celebrations, but most of all time spent face-to-face with those I love were all the things I longed for during the pandemic.
Why I Write I once took a workshop with Marge Piercy, a prolific poet and novelist who told the participants to become writers only if they could not do anything else. The […]
…We’ll float,
you said. Afterward
we’ll float between two worlds—
five bronze beetles
stacked like spoons in one
peony blossom, drugged by lust:
if I came back as a bird
I’d remember that—
until everyone we love
is safe is what you said.
Even in my postpartum-addled state, I recognize I’m singing my baby daughter a love song. . . . Yet the words have never seemed more true.
It was the night before Xmas, and somewhere around here
I sat alone with a drink, you know, holiday cheer.
While most people think about food this time of year, I contemplate the end of the world.
The winter holidays are on their way. Since leaving my hometown in Texas thirty years ago, I have spent almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas since driving or flying hundreds of miles to […]
The Gloria Sirens 