Last night I itched to write something and had nothing to say. I'd fallen behind, not writing much of anything last month, set aside usually for National Poetry Writing. What I did do though, was rescue and edit work I'd paused on. Word Camera is a webpage that converts photographs into text. I had three …
The Notebook
On the train coming into Sacramento, I spent the time shuffling back and forth through my notebooks, trying to come up with something of value, something deep to say, to a room full of 200 strangers about writing. And not just writing, but the hardest of all: Humor Writing. I've been fortunate with much gratitude beyond all …
Museum Piece
Months before it opened, I was asked to participate in a poetry reading as part of a museum exhibit. When I finally went to the gallery, Generation to Generation at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, it was as reporter with a notebook slipped in my pocket. It wasn't until walking through the gallery and being present …
A Stranger’s Dream (A Halloween Story)
HE awoke screaming again. His head steaming and raw. He coughed to near seizure while some slow moving slime thawed, dripping the length of his throat like mis-swallowed gum. His breath was reticent to move and once it did unobstructed he angrily pounded the bedding with his fist until flurries of sweat rose in swarms …
BBQ Ribs For the Dead (on Writing, Loneliness and Repurposing Poems)
In two days time, there will be an office memorial for a coworker who died the weekend of my birthday. I came back from my personal 3 day weekend and a secretary passed my desk, stopped and told me how over the weekend Linda had died suddenly. I'd worked with her about seven years and …
Continue reading "BBQ Ribs For the Dead (on Writing, Loneliness and Repurposing Poems)"
Grace Jones Live
I chose sleep over the blood moon last night and woke up to good news for a change. A poem I'd been tinkering with over the past few weeks surprised me by being accepted in a journal. I included a draft of it in a submission package a while back and its acceptance this morning …
Mise en Poetry
'…mise en place' means far more than simply assembling all the ingredients, pots and pans, plates, and serving pieces needed for a particular period. Mise en place is also a state of mind. A couple of weeks ago, my friend met me in the city and we sat for lunch. She mentioned wanting to write …
Booze, Not Books
Once I finally settled upon a form for my poem idea, I spent four months working on it. Intended for/ Inspired by BlackPoetsSpeakOut, the poem emerged slow-brewed, during my weekly half hour walks to the acupuncturist for the arthritis frosting my knee. During that walk, I'd think of a line and dictate it into the …
Writing To-Get-Her?
She and I met months ago. We've had movies nights, dinner. We're not dating-- I emotionally began pulling back once I truly began listening to her. I need to be turned on from the inside. Maybe last night is a good illustration why she doesn't do it for me. She's a poet and performer and …
O.P.P.
OTHER PEOPLE'S POETRY, YO!: Take a poem you like. Delete every other line. Write an original line to replace what you've erased. Now erase all that remains of the original poem. Re-write what's left. That's a dope prompt. I tried it yesterday and kinda liked what came out. I almost printed it here, but I …
The Dirty Rat 