"Keep your sunny side up, up!" ("Hide the side that gets blue"). I write this to myself as well as to you. No whining. I’ve been watching Foyle’s War on Netflix and really enjoying it. It very rarely hits the wrong note; I’ve watched two seasons and only had some quibbles with the series. It’s been making me think of the sacrifices made at that time (1940s), wondering whether modern society could soldier on so. Here’s news I know. First off, big congrats to Ellen Bass … [Read more...]
Death of a legend, contributor news, new call for submissions
Hey there sports fans. If you are into baseball, I‘ve got to think you’re mourning the death of the great Ernie Banks, #14. His face as a rookie ballplayer, which graced the front pages of the papers in Chicago, is something to behold: there’s a purity there not seen often. It shines through. Beautiful. It struck me because Sunday’s Chicago Tribune covered the death of Chicago’s hometown legend in the front pages and back in the sports pages too while the arts section … [Read more...]
What’s new with SISMW contributors? Rodley, Boyle, Hilbert, Mahan, Swist, Bass, Meno
Supposedly it’s spring. Last night we had a dusting of snow and today the temps are in the 20s. Most of the mounds of snow that accumulated over the winter are gone except for the waning piles that remain in the shady spots. I’ve seen robins and blue jays and all kinds of birds in the yard. Today’s photos in Glimpse of Solace are from a new contributor, Lisa Comperry. Today's Guest Post is a poem ("Seed Catalogs") by Laura Rodley. BTW, did you read Laura's poem for … [Read more...]
Sláinte
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! I’ve spent the weekend celebrating. First on Friday I re-connected with a cousin. Since then my mind has been on the past, the uncles and aunts, grandparents, and parents now deceased. All weekend long the pull to look back has been strong, and I have indulged myself, remembering the funny stories and not so funny ones too. One of my uncles was particularly proud of our Irish heritage and he would drill me to remember my ancestry. “What are … [Read more...]
News from contributors: Levine, Boyle, Bass, Meno, Somlo, Kirk, Bottiglieri, Beals
Solace in So Many Words contributors have been busy. Here’s a look at what they have been up to. Philip Levine has a poem “The Future” in the January 6 issue of The New Yorker, which begins this way, “The past is no more past / than the future,” and ends “but the day kept going / on and on into the future.” T. C. Boyle who released his tenth book of short stories (T. C. Boyle Stories II) in 2013 is working on a novel The Harder They Come. I'm about a half-year late … [Read more...]