After Ernest Dempsey reviewed “Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary” on TCM Reviews, we struck up an email correspondence. We began to find out that even though we are from different generations (I am old enough to be his mother), and different cultures (he lives in Pakistan, and I’m in the USA), that we shared many values…
Last year I met Eamon Grennan’s poetry through the Lannan Literary videos, a marvelous resource that deserves a post of its own. Eamon Grennan quickly became one of my favorite poets. Former U. S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins says of Grennan: Few poets are as generous as Eamon Grennan in the sheer volume of delight…
There are very few birthdays I know by heart, but my sister Julia’s birthday is one of them. March 13th will always be her day. I wrote “Reaper” in 2005 when she would have turned 62, 7 months after her death. This year, 2007, 2 years and 7 months afterwards, I pause to think, still,…
If you go to www.bloggingauthors.com, you can hear these five recordings on “Fascinating Author Podcasts”: 1. Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary 2. Why I Wrote a Book 3. Praising Mother 4. Memento Mori: Life and Death, Moment by Moment 5. P.O.D. Quality Control I enjoyed making these recordings and hope you’ll enjoy listening to them.
RUTH THOMPSON LIFE STORY Ruth Evelyn Johnston Thompson (January 4, 1916 to May 1, 2006) was the daughter of Court I. and Grace V. (nee Higgins) Johnston. At the time of her birth they were farming in Elsah Township, Jersey County, Illinois. As Ruth grew up she had two older brothers, Loris and Lloyd, two…
STOMACH Back in California I give my Midwest cooking a rest. Pizza out of the freezer passes for supper. In Illinois I concoct elaborate stews and spetzle. To cosset my father’s appetite. To help his stomach march through Julia’s death. His savor for life no longer sat at the dining room table after the accident,…
In this section: 9 poems, 1 Essay, 2 photos DOUBLE RAINBOW VISION Like a bridge up to Heaven, perhaps. The sunset is like that, too. Angels climb onto the sunset, trees, and skies. These are the gates of Heaven. A week after a good person dies then a rainbow happens. The rest rise up on…
In this section: 12 poems, 4 photos QUAIL VISITATION Daniel cleaned twin windows facing the mountain. Cleared away grime two years in the making. I cooked supper while he looked out. “What a shame when birds slam into glass.” Then, suddenly, one did. A big sound. Then, down. Tiger prowled the deck to claim his…
In this section: 26 poems, 7 photos LOVING LIBERTY Her loves her, Liberty. He really loves her. She’s old, Liberty. Really old. But something went wrong with Liberty’s back right leg. To save the hind leg, they had to cut off two toes. This old dog Liberty had to learn new tricks. Now she limps,…