Story Poems as Memoir Tool
Want to know more about story poems as a tool for writing memoir? Listen to this Story Circle Network podcast with Janet Riehl.
Want to know more about story poems as a tool for writing memoir? Listen to this Story Circle Network podcast with Janet Riehl.
When I lived in Botswana during the 1970s, my name in Setwana was (and is) “Naledi”–which means “star.” Although it sounds exalted, it’s not an uncommon name. Here’s how I got my name. During the first weeks of Peace Corps language and cultural training, I asked my teachers if I could have a name in…
Pop and I share a young music student, a twelve year-old girl. He teaches her fiddle and I teach her violin. That seems a fair trade. She comes up for his Sunday musical open house. We both love working with her because not only is she interested and has a bit of talent, but she’s…
Round tomato with a tough skin. Sharp knife. Ouch. My skin not as tough as the tomato Blood and tomatoes are both red. Thus began my afternoon adventure. Not at all what I’d planned. The index finger on my left hand bled like a stuck pig soaking through cotton ball after cotton ball. For 1…
This conversation with Joseph LaMarque is the seventh in my series of profiles on African-American fine artists and leaders of cultural organizations in St. Louis which now include (in alphabetical order): Rene Dimanche Jr., Ron Himes, Joseph La Marque, Edna J. Patterson Petty, Robert Powell, Freida L. Wheaton, and Rochleigh Z. Wholfe for a total…
I met Colleen McKee through a St. Louis poetry workshop “Loosely Identified.” Colleen, a St. Louisan, is the author of a collection of poetry, My Hot Little Tomato (Cherry Pie, 2007). She also co-edited Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America (PenUltimate, 2008). Her Riehlife Poem-of-the-Day “Natural Causes” originally appeared…
I have a wonderful set of friends who I make sure to visit when I’m in Lake County. Daniel Holland is my chauffeur and host. He takes me back and forth to the Sacramento airport–about a 2 hours drive. Now that’s a friend! I caught a break in the weather–paradise. We ate on Daniel’s front…