This is the eighth installment in this series. You can find the earlier installments by clicking on the Reclamation tag. Thanks for visiting. My dad was born in 1940 somewhere around San Antonio. His first experience of life was the doctor dropping him on his head. From what I’ve heard there was no immediate thought … Continue reading Reclamation part 8
“Adultery” by James Dickey
Adultery by James Dickey As you may have read, I’m doing a project at Patreon titled “Eating Popeyes in Romania” which is about our family’s ongoing experiences in Iași while Amy is a Fulbright Scholar. Amy just posted a piece about our epic journey to get here on her Substack and you should all go … Continue reading “Adultery” by James Dickey
“Nobody’s Poem” by Michael Waters
I started trying to publish poems just before the internet exploded into life. This was the late 90's and I was a nontraditional student English major Creative Writing minor just getting my feet wet. At some point I remember going to a bookstore and buying the Writer's Guide, this massive book full of submission guidelines … Continue reading “Nobody’s Poem” by Michael Waters
Reclamation Part 7
This is the seventh installment in this series. You can find the earlier installments by clicking on the Reclamation tag. Thanks for visiting. When I was a teenaged Jehovah's Witness, the church released a book called Reasoning From the Scriptures which was full of scenarios we might run into while preaching from door to door. … Continue reading Reclamation Part 7
A new project in the works
This is an announcements post I guess. Back to talking about poems soon. A while back my oldest daughter Brittany asked me to make her a shawl for her wedding. She chose the pattern and then proceeded to get married much sooner than planned for reasons, which is fine. They're having a party/reception next year … Continue reading A new project in the works
What Do We Do When the Old Monsters Die by Chelsea Rathburn
I had a poem published last week in X. P. Callahan’s Diary Poems, which is kind of unusual for me these days. It’s challenging to publish when you don’t submit much (or at all) so I very much appreciate X. P. asking me to send some things and that one of the pieces landed. It’s a poem … Continue reading What Do We Do When the Old Monsters Die by Chelsea Rathburn
Being Brave
Kick in the Jaw by Dan Albergotti Not long after Russia invaded Ukraine, my wife Amy had a sign made that hangs outside our house. It’s blue with yellow capitalized sans serif letters and it says “Be Brave Like Ukraine.” She had it made to show support for the Ukrainians but the message isn’t for … Continue reading Being Brave
Reclamation Part 5
I guess if I were to try to pin down my first explicitly political opinion, it’s got to be connected to the necessary separation of church and state, which has mostly disappeared these days if you’re part of the right church (i.e. a brand of religion favored by at least 5 sitting justices on the … Continue reading Reclamation Part 5
The River Remembers
by January Gill O'Neil from her book Glitter Road I remember an all-day field trip to the Honey Island Swamp. Canoes, sack lunches brought from home with soda cans wrapped in foil, their tops distended from too long in the freezer. We wore clothes we didn’t mind ruining just in case. Near the end of … Continue reading The River Remembers
Becoming Your Own God
"The God Who Loves You" by Carl Dennis In Genesis 2, God creates Adam and then tells him he’s free to eat from any tree in the garden, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “for when you eat from it you will surely die.” I can’t remember how many different … Continue reading Becoming Your Own God
