Line tamer.
And that is why we never had our tree up on December 4th. Or December 10th or 17th. First came Advent. And my father, a Lutheran minister, wouldn’t let us forget that. We’d bring out the Advent log of birch—ancient Druidic tree of renewal—with three purple and one pink candle, and would do Advent devotionals Read More …
We never had our Christmas tree up this early. In October, small trees would start to appear at every intersection, bound to the four signal posts. On the day after Thanksgiving, the three local high school bands—Liberty, Freedom, BeCaHi—would alternate years performing at the tree lighting ceremony. Freshman year of high school, part of the Read More …
A cardinal on a pinecone nest. Another craft. Once a month the women’s craft guild would meet in the social hall at Rosemont, my father’s church for 18 years. The room smelled of hot glue guns, silk flowers and Spanish moss, and when I was done with my homework I would help my mother construct Read More …
For the month of December, I’ll be posting little stories about the ornaments on my Xmas tree. You can take the boy out of Christmas City, USA… * * * My little sister’s birthday is today, December 1st (Happy Birthday, Jess!). We are four and half years apart, so one’s full birthday is the other’s Read More …
I meant to publish this post sometime after Skin Shift was released back in 2012 and it just never happened, probably because I borrowed info from it for various interviews last year and for the Poets & Writers profile they did on me. But still–since I did one previously for my chapbooks, let me pause Read More …
Back in the summer of 1999 I did a little independent study over in Ireland between my junior and senior year of college called “The Solitary Voice”. It was a class for actors and writers and I was the lone poet. We all had to memorize a text–the actors monologues from plays such as The Read More …
Well, this is embarrassing. I made this post and thought I scheduled it to go up at the end of December, but it never posted. It’s now April. So here is my much-delayed list of favorite reads from 2012 (which I’m back-dating to January 1!). As always, I present these in alphabetical order, and must note Read More …
Thunderstorms flooding the city. Air so heavy with humidity and pollution and rotting trash it’s hard to breathe. Showering multiple times a day to stay cool and get the film off your skin. Ah New York in the summertime. It’s around this time every year I start dreaming of Autumn and crisper days and getting Read More …
Happy birthday to my book Skin Shift, which is officially released today. You share a birthday with your daddy, and with Marilyn Monroe, amongst others. Last summer while in the midst of my Marilyn research, I discovered The Seven Year Itch premiered on her birthday, June 1st, 1955, during her year of self-imposed exile in New York Read More …
If you pre-ordered Skin Shift, Sibling Rivalry Press is shipping pre-orders early! Each day another reader writes to say it arrived in the mail. My little skin-shifter soldiers are marching! It is also now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and SPD, and always through SRP (support small presses!), so choose your seller if you have yet to Read More …