Once again, I’m reposting this oldie but goodie. It’s Christmas Eve, and like many of you, I can’t wait to bid 2020 goodbye and good riddance. Marooned at home with my husband, my dog and my cat, I’ve been surprisingly cheerful all year, but I haven’t really gotten into the Christmas spirit. But for old… [Read More]
Christmas Consumption–remember when we shopped till we dropped?
I wrote this poem four years ago, in 2017. I never dreamed how drastically my habits as a consumer would change in a single year, but Covid-19 has utterly destroyed the joy I used to take in spending. Not just in shopping, but in so much more—dining out in restaurants, going to movies, and most… [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]
The Most Over-Hyped Time of the Year
Only eight days till Christmas, and I’m immersed in the holiday spirit. But there have been past Christmases when I was mired in depression or feeling very “bah humbug” about the holidays. I’m well aware that this season conjures up a wide range of emotions in shades from joy to despair, and that December can… [Read More]