Solace in a Book

New writing, new calls, found beauty

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June has been flying by. Hope you have been soaring.  Here’s some news. Congrats to Kerry Langan who has a new book of short fiction—My Name is Your Name and Other Stories, published by Wising Up Press. BTW, Wising Up has a call for submissions -- Longer Than Expected: Adulthood After Life Threatening Childhood Illness. You may be bewitched by Donna Hilbert’s new poem “Domestic Arts” in Verse Virtual. Looking for something to listen to? Daniel Chacon’s Words on a … [Read more...]

Some summer diversions

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Hey there – happy summer! I am happy to start the season with a cover shot. My photo “Petal Perfect” is the cover of the latest Olentangy Review. Thanks so much to Melissa and Darryl Price for choosing my work. Here’s some stuff I found interesting these past weeks. For Mockingbird, June 2, Sarah Condon wrote “Self-Righteousness at Home in the Twenty-First Century” and it has stayed on my mind. The subject matter is pertinent (“Because self-righteousness cuts a clear … [Read more...]

Donne, Wright, Calls for submissions

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Howdy. I saw a tornado of cottonwood on my deck today. It’s that time of year. The lawn is edged in white. The news of the world and my country’s official take on those news events have left me without adequate words. Fortunately a Facebook friend named Bob Dixon-Kolar made a couple posts that caught my attention this week. One is this passage by John Donne, which is taken from  Meditation 17, from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. Donne wrote it in prose in 1624, but … [Read more...]

Hope gives issue to hope . . .

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Hello friends. Well, the world has seen carnage and hate and stupidity this week. I must admit I have a difficult time finding solace. The literary world is mourning the loss of Denis Johnson. In announcing his death the  Michener Center for Writers reported that Denis Johnson kept on his desk this quote by Walt Whitman as a personal manifesto. “This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand … [Read more...]