“You can write, traveling?”

I recently sent a poem I wrote while in Tucson (our first year as snowbirds) to a dear friend and mentor. I told him I had a collection of Tucson poems going. As a world traveler himself, as well as an esteemed poet, he said, "You can write, traveling?" My…

What is a poem made of?

In responding to a friend who asked recently, I present my answer to the question, "What is a poem made of?" Poetry is language defined by compression, saying more with less. It is language meant to be read out loud, slowly. Language in a poem plays with sound. Poetic fluency…

My Favorite Books and a Few Rambling Thoughts about Reading and Writing

Last night, I met with Lakeland University's Lit Lounge book club. They had read my novel A Hollow Bone for their September meeting. Beyond talking about the novel, there were questions for me about the writing process itself, and at one point, as inevitably happens for any writer, someone asked…

My Hal Prize Arrives in the Mail

Who would have thought a little poem about picking currants could mean so much? In the mail today came my Hal Prize, the tangible prize beyond the honor and the publication: a monetary prize, a week's stay at Write On Door County, and a lovely hand-crafted mug from Clay Bay…