Donalyn Miller’s “The Book Whisperer” Reaches Cultural Icon Status
Friday, November 22nd, 2013 Posted in Around the Web, In the Classroom, Readings | No Comments »I met Donalyn Miller at a Literacy Conference in Ohio. She was the keynote speaker and I came away impressed, inspired, and determined to read her book, THE BOOK WHISPERER: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. I started reading it ...
Writing Advice from a Master: “There’s Only One Question and One Answer.”
Monday, May 20th, 2013 Posted in Interviews & Appreciations, Readings, the writing process | No Comments »I have an uncomplicated relationship with the books of Stephen King. For the longest time, I ignored 'em. The problem was two-fold: 1) for whatever reason, I didn't get around to them in high school, which was too bad, because of what happened ...
The Poem I Read First Thing Today
Thursday, November 29th, 2012 Posted in Readings | No Comments »Before I rubbed the sand from my eyes, before I drank a cup of coffee, before I got dressed, I read this poem by William Stafford. Then I read it again, out loud, to my wife, before she rose from ...
Photo
Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 Posted in Readings | 1 Comment »Sent to me by a friend . . . I wrote this book 19 years ago. Some days are hard. Some days I don't feel at all like a success. And other days I just want to give thanks, be grateful, ...
In Praise of Farmers’ Markets
Friday, November 2nd, 2012 Posted in Current Events, Family, Readings | No Comments »It's that time of year when our local, weekly farmers' market moves indoors and, obviously, the product changes. These markets really are a summertime thing. I'll be sad to see the empty parking lot on Saturdays outside the middle school ...
Earthrise: “Oh my God. Here’s the earth coming up.”
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 Posted in Readings | No Comments »This photograph, known as "Earthrise," was taken by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission while in orbit around the moon. I've been reading Bill McKibben's book, Eaarth -- that's not a typo, by the way -- and he has ...
It’s Like Riding a Bike
Monday, September 3rd, 2012 Posted in Around the Web, Interviews & Appreciations, Readings | No Comments »I basically took the summer off from blogging, so feel a little wobbly about it, my palms sweating on the handlebars, not sure I remember how to do this. I don't know what happened, exactly, just somehow tired of the ...
Quote of the Day: “If you have to be sure don’t write.”
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 Posted in Readings | 1 Comment »I was in the library today, reading poetry . . . ----------------. . . when I was supposed to be writing prose. I found a poem called "Berryman," by W.S. Merwin. Here's the last seven lines . . . I asked how can you ...
“My Life’s Sentences” by Jhumpa Lahiri (on the art and craft of writing — and reading!)
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 Posted in Before You Go, Readings, the writing process | No Comments »I have to share this brilliant piece from The New York Times Sunday Review, March 18, 2012, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Jhumpa Lahiri. I powerfully identified with it. In it, she expresses her love of sentences. Everything about this ...
Poetry Friday: Frank O’Hara, “Why I Am Not a Painter”
Friday, March 16th, 2012 Posted in Readings, the writing process | 1 Comment »Conversational and accessible, Frank O'Hara's poems read as if he jotted them down on a scrap of paper during lunch break, or told you them as you walked down the hall. Don't let the surface casualness fool you, the man ...