Marcel Toussaint and I met through the St. Louis Writers Guild. Besides being a brilliant and productive Poet-Lyricist-Novelist, I can attest that Marcel is a dream on the dance floor–as I discovered at a STL Writers Guild party. Marcel was also kind enough to respond to the sample from “Sightlines: A Family Love Story in…
I met David Lucas through the St. Louis Writers Guild. Recently, at the Missouri Writers Guild, he was a whirl of activity–making everything work as it should. David is a poet, genre writer, and blogger. His blogs show his multi-dimensional interests: writing, self-defense, and dating locations in and around St. Louis. Today on Riehlife he’s…
This is one of my favorite profiles anyone wrote about me. (St. Louis Writers Guild Newsletter “The Scribe” Fall 2008). Even I learned some things about me! I joined SLWG in 2007 when I moved here, and became a member of distinction in 2008. Hey! The prez lives in the building next door and she’s…
Those of you who went to Sunday School will recognize my play on words with the beattitudes (be-attitudes). Coming back from such a sea-change trip, I wanted to count some blessings I received on home ground in this post. In another post, I’ll count blessings footloose and abroad. 1) Send-off Dinner. Before I left, Doreen…
I was eager to hear Walter Bargen, Missouri’s First Poet Laureate, read his poetry and give good advice on writing a first line that arrests the attention and makes the reader want to keep going. He did not disappoint. With charming diffidence and low key humor he kept us enthralled and left us wiser for…
THE STATS Ten plays selected for reading out of forty submitted. Four plays read chosen for full production. Mandel’s “Audition Piece” made both cuts! Gerry Mandel, playwright THE GENESIS OF “AUDITION PIECE” I started writing this play about a year ago. It began as a result of a comment made by a friend named Harry….
I met Wilfred Bereswill at a St. Louis Writers Guild talk featuring Qui XiaoLong, an author whose work I’m just coming to know and and admire. Qui spoke on Perspective and Distance, such as in his “Case of Two Cities” book (an Inspector Chen Cao book) Qui possesses that rare mix of charm, erudition, humor,…
I first encountered the word of the talented and entertaining Antona Smith (writing under the name Tayé Foster Bradshaw) at the St. Louis Writers Guild Wired Coffee Open Mic. When Antona told me about her youngest son and middle child Joshua’s choir performances, I asked her to share this work with you. Check out Antona’s…
Among just one of my pleasures at the St. Louis Writers Guild Loud Mouth Open Mic last week, was meeting Aaron Belz and becoming introduced to his “gravely hilarious” poems, as Denise Duhamel describes them. I bought a copy of “The Bird Hoverer” spent some enjoyable time with his hovering birds over several afternoons. Aaron…
“We need to tell our stories; argue our case.”–D. Michael Cheers (Assistant Professor, Photojournalism, San Jose State University) _______________________________________________________________ From the opening presentation of “Crowns of Glory” (Victor Little–actor–Sheila Forrest–vocalist–and David A. N. Jackson–vocalist & percussionist), through the panel of three distinguished photojournalists (D. Michael Cheers, Jason Miccolo Johnson, and Wiley Price) moderated by Alisa…