originally published in Libretto Magazine in shadow the glow is soft in sunlight it’s hard candy a room in a house through trees with a purple-pink light you can’t read by it draw by it knit a sweater or darn a sock you can lie, though, surrounded by how it makes you feel which is ....
I wanted brothers. Two, maybe three, but one alone would have kept me safe from my sister’s abuse, her never-ending rage at my being born. This necessary brother would be in the middle, between us age-wise, a willing defender. He’d always take my side. This brother would...
if the sky won't have me originally published in FEED issue 2.2 the rain makes a river of the road rushing rivulets, eddies all aswirl it goes where gravity takes it & gathers in a low point, getting deeper & wider as the storm fails to relent i step into the river, reluctantly...
MY FATHER WANTED SONS My feminism began with my father, who wanted sons. Had I been one he’d have named me Paul after my mother’s father, or Bruce, after no one he knew. He must have liked the sound alone, the angry strength of it, harking...
originally published in Women Writers, Women's Books I recently took part in a virtual author event with two other women writers. Let me say how much I have come to appreciate the magic of Zoom video conferencing, aside from not having a paid account which meant...
My first short story was written on brown paper using a second-hand Underwood typewriter I picked up at an antiques store. I felt so writerly, perched on my stool at my kitchen counter, banging away. My husband was studying for the bar exam and had...
Chapter One It’s all about family, Angie tells the Greens. An elderly dementia patient can experience significant anxiety on their bad days. Love and support go a long way. The staff at Lindell is wonderful, in fact, they were given an award by the National Alzheimer’s...
First drafts are rotten little beasts. They just don’t behave. They do what they want, and give you lots of lip in the bargain. Revising tames the beast and can, with work, make a beauty. So how do we affect this glorious transformation? First, we drop the hyperbole...
Staying home means finding ways to stay happy and sane. Even with cold summer weather, there’s the garden; another book to read; not to mention another one to write. But sometimes I need to get away from pages and screens and stretch my brain another...
Writing is a private affair. One mind, one hand holding a pen; or two hands hovering over a keyboard. It’s almost always carried out alone. And when the pages are written, then what? This is a key question because it defines a crucial divide between...