It is the time of year for birds on a wire and rain and long lines at traffic lights in school zones. Last night I walked with my friend in the rain to buy scratch tickets and there was a tree with leaves red already. I know scratch tickets are mostly a waste of money... Continue Reading →

I have lived on my own for nine months, but these days are my first when I'm not in school. For nine months, I have taken care of my children during the weekdays, during half of the nights, and I have read and I've written. I've thought only sporadically about my future. In School allowed... Continue Reading →

It was not any awakening of the large, not so much as that, only a stepping back from the petty. ~from "The Promise" by Jane Hirshfield I have been feeling myself again, which is to say productive and filled with purpose. I have been positive and happy, much more than I had been. I am... Continue Reading →

There are different kinds of quiet, but we talk about it as if there's only one. You know how Eskimos have all those different words for snow? I want different words for different types of quiet. There is a still, which isn't exactly quiet but is calm. It's birds fluttering in the trees and wind... Continue Reading →

I was not rebelling by smoking dope or drinking, I was testing ideas. I was experimenting with voice, what I could say and still be heard in an atmosphere of prescribed truths. I remember the first time I questioned something I heard at church out loud. I must've been around twelve. I remember the answer... Continue Reading →

After nine years, I decided it was high time I updated my website. I considered hiring a designer to do it for me. But then, I would be constantly emailing and raising concerns, little nit-picky ones, so I decided, fuck it, I am an independent woman. I can do it myself. Of course, I always... Continue Reading →

don't read her journals. trust me. if she offers you some of her work to read, remember kindness. and don't assume the asshole character is you (although it very well could be). she might forget to eat. make her food. when she stays up late writing, kiss her head on your way upstairs, don't shame her about skipping sex.... Continue Reading →

It was March 9th, 2018 when I was first in the presence of Lorrie Moore.Setting: Tampa, Florida. AWP Conference.Mood: Giddy.Me and my best friend, Jen, a fellow Lorrie Moore Obsessive, went into the conference room early, before the last panel had even left. Once people started filing out, we pounced on the best seats.For background:... Continue Reading →