Inspired by Nature
Whenever I feel like I have lost my way, I go to my garden. There I will find everything: beauty, growth, life-and-death fighting, and rot. I should say that I…
Minimalism and The Small Door of Your Death
The poems from The Small Door of Your Death, are all written in what I might call a minimalist style. Because they dealt with the death of my son, I…
Lagniappe: Losing Weight
I have struggled with weight all of my life. Just as I had to watch what I drank so as not to develop the alcoholism my father died of, I…
Inspiration: Bark
What is it about tree bark that so inspires? I must admit to loving trees, first off. But there's something about the bark of a tree that excites my imagination…
Correspondences and Covers
I would call the word "correspondences" a cousin to the word "ekphrasis" in the way I'm thinking of it. In Charles Baudelaire's great sonnet, "Correspondences," he writes "Les parfums, les…
Flambeau Carriers
Check out this video of artist Morgan Everhart making a painting in response to my poem "Flambeau Carriers" from Let it Be a Dark Roux. https://vimeo.com/444685706 .
Ekphrasis
Traditionally we understand ekphrasis as a written response, often a poem, to a work of art. John Keats' "Ode on Grecian Urn" is a famous example. The idea, initially, was…
Trunk, Sky and Vine
I've been working on this piece to donate to the Ossabaw Island Fundraiser. Each year they invite artists to submit a piece of art that folks are then able to…
Working With Earth Minerals
Welcome to my new blog! The old one, Poetry and Quilting, which you can still find here, will remain archived there for those who might be interested in the beginnings…