There’s nothing like a near-death experience to bring home the realization that it’s high time to get to work on that memoir you’ve been procrastinating about for ages. My own epiphany came about when I emerged from emergency brain surgery the day before Halloween. I’d been laid low by a subdural hematoma on October 29th—ironically,… [Read More]
Twelves ways of looking at Christmas Consumption
In my last post, I described using Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” as a stylistic model for creating an original poem. In my Alchemy of Creative Writing workshop series at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, I challenged the participants to write a poem in this format using the holidays as… [Read More]
Sunny and 75: a poem about my cheery outlook on life
I wrote this poem nearly two months ago on the day before my 76th birthday, and I hadn’t read it again till last Wednesday night, when I performed it at the Troy Poetry Mission, a monthly open mic at O’Brien’s restaurant in Troy. In mid-reading, I thought Jeez, this is pretty good, so I decided… [Read More]
Losing my ambition–a poem about lazy summer days
I wrote this poem in late July, and since then I’ve been following my own advice and taking it easy. But August has been unusually cool, and the past week has felt more like September. Maybe that’s why I feel ambition creeping back in ahead of schedule. Why wait for Labor Day when I can… [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]
Hope Dawns Eternal makes The New York Times!
I’ve always been in awe of The New York Times, so it was thrilling to be interviewed by a Times reporter last Tuesday on New York’s primary day, and even more thrilling to find myself quoted in the next morning’s edition, and to discover that the reporter, Jesse McKinley, topped off his story with the… [Read More]