Author Archive

How We Spend Our Days: Adjusting My Social Media Balance

| February 4, 2011 | 7 Comments

Dear Twitter:  We’ve spent some good times together. And there are still times I need you. Times I want you. But you’re too demanding of my time, my energy.  I’m leaving you – at least for a trial separation. Yes, there’s Facebook, but I’m thinking of leaving Facebook, too. I need more time for me. [...]

A New Year, A New Attitude: Coping with Sudden Change

| January 5, 2011 | 9 Comments

A plaque by the artist Mary Engelbreit hangs above my kitchen sink. It depicts two girls looking out a window, their arms resting on the sill. The girl on the left, a blonde with a big red ribbon, has her eyes cut to the side; her mouth is in a most definite pout. The girl [...]

18th Century Rules for 21st Century Mentoring

| August 4, 2010 | 2 Comments

Having my first book published has marked a real threshold in my creative writing life. Not only is it a thrilling accomplishment in itself, but it’s also opened up a lot more opportunities for me to teach and mentor.  (In fact, I’m now officially a mentor in The Writer’s Loft low-residency program at Middle Tennessee [...]

I Risk Disconnecting from Social Media

| July 5, 2010 | 5 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to have several days to myself for a writing retreat. I stayed at a place that didn’t have Internet connectivity, and it was an eye-opening experience. Without the distraction of the web, and especially social media, I realized how drastically my habits at the computer have changed [...]

I Risk Feeling Like a Loser – a Nobody!

| June 4, 2010 | 4 Comments

Yesterday, NPR aired an engaging tribute to Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky, who died earlier this week.  One part of the story, which was by writer and book critic Alan Cheuse, almost took my breath away. Voznesensky, Cheuse said, filled sports stadiums with tens of thousands of fans. That in itself is amazing, but there was something [...]

Be Beautiful in Your Fearless Imperfection

| May 3, 2010 | 6 Comments

Last week I was a guest on River Jordan Live,  a program broadcast on Radio Free Nashville and streamed over the web. River, a fellow author, invited me to help her celebrate National Poetry Month, and I was quite eager to do so. I love talking poetry. Here’s my vision of how the afternoon might’ve [...]

The Fight to Stop Mountaintop Removal: I Risk Getting Political

| April 3, 2010 | 5 Comments

I keep waiting to be “unfriended.” To logon to Facebook and see an irate comment posted on my wall; to notice I’ve lost a few followers on Twitter; to watch at the grocery store as another mom from my son’s school whips through produce with barely a nod in my direction. The message these former [...]

The Grace of Gradual Change

| March 4, 2010 | 11 Comments

I think we all know that any REAL risk will push our comfort zones, but I’ve realized in the past few weeks that some zones are more uncomfortable than others. Consider my January daily audacious goal to write or edit a poem five days a week. I was excited about it, many of you were kind [...]

Five Things I Learned from Pursuing My Daily Audacious Goal

| February 4, 2010 | 7 Comments

As I blogged last month, on January 4th I set the daily audacious goal of writing or editing a poem 5 days a week until today, February 4th. Meeting my goal would mean I’d have 23 new or revised poems by today. The actual count as of today: 16. You – or I – could [...]

A Daily Audacious Goal: Can I Do It? Can You?

| January 4, 2010 | 13 Comments

Twice in recent months, I’ve heard people mention a commitment to daily goals which struck me as totally audacious. First, my mentor Bill Brown mentioned that he and his friend Jeff Hardin were writing and exchanging a new poem EVERY DAY. That’s my emphasis, not Bill’s. Every day? How in the world? I thought. I [...]