I wrote this essay in early May, hoping the Albany Times Union would run it on their op ed pages, but they still haven’t gotten around to it, so I’m finally publishing it here. It’s more urgent than ever, but people still don’t seem to understand how drastically ill he is. Duty to Warn: The… [Read More]
Boring in black: the me too movement and the Golden Globes
I wrote this opinion piece soon after the Golden Globes and sent it to the Albany Times Union, but since they haven’t published it, I decided to share it here. Reading it now, nearly a month later, I stand by what I said then. Awards shows are one of my guilty pleasures, and the Golden… [Read More]
In Memoriam: Windows on the World
Today I awoke to a beautifully cool, crisp September morning with a brilliant blue sky – a Tuesday morning very like the day sixteen years ago when the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell. Like millions of Americans, I have vivid memories of that ghastly morning embedded in my brain – the endlessly… [Read More]
Donald, the cock of the walk: inside a twisted mind
Bashing Donald Trump is a popular pastime among the writers I know, especially the poets. Wondering what I could add to the flurry of fiery condemnations, I decided to try writing from the point of view of The Donald himself. As the author of mysteries and suspense novels, I love getting into the heads of… [Read More]
RED ALERT–a poem for the gloom-and-doom folks who think America’s never had it worse
I vowed that after the election, I’d stop writing about politics, but I’m afraid that’s a promise I’ll inevitably break. Last week I wrote this poem to read at the open mic at New World Home Cooking in Saugerties. The reading featured Therese Broderick and Alifair Skebe, both reading from their excellent new books, which… [Read More]
I’ve got the Stupid America blues
Once again this November, I signed up for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, with the goal of writing 50,000 words, though this year I’m working not on a novel, but on a nonfiction book about creativity and the shadow side. I got off to a good start, but in the past three days, as… [Read More]