Jefferson
A poem for the 4th. (The day Thomas Jefferson died, in 1826, on the 50th birthday of the nation.)
… [more]CreateSpace: a Review
I recently self-published a collection of my best haiku from the first year of my daily haiku writing experiment, Haiku Diem, through CreateSpace, the Amazon.com affiliated print-on-demand service (see the FAQ below if you don't know what print-on-demand is) and have been asked by friends what the experience was like and whether I'd recommend CreateSpace for similar book projects of theirs.… [more]
A 9/11 poem
The Pull
Bodies of every size falling
at the same rate, no one
more or less anxious
to achieve the finality
of ground, all
equally compliant
or ineffectively resistant
to gravity's
slippery slope.
On the Norway attacks
First, read this courageous comment on the bombing and shooting in Norway.
We had our own "Oslo moment" here in the U.S., of course: the 9/11 attacks. In the aftermath, there was a lot of talk about tightening national security even at the cost of compromising our freedoms. A point that was often made in defense of more, and more extreme, measures was that no matter how strong our security was already, the terrorists would only need to find one crack in the wall, and they'd be in again.… [more]
My picture book texts
A few months ago, after I submitted my YA Joan of Arc novelization to yet another publisher and was feeling like I was moving into a wait-and-see phase concerning all my YA novels, I decided to turn my attention to picture book texts. I had already written a few over the years, but they needed a lot of work, and so I plunged into that, and wrote a few new ones, too.… [more]
Reading aloud: The Idea of Order at Key West
I've decided to start posting recordings of myself reading some of my favorite poems aloud, and believe that there can be no better starting point than this poem of Wallace Stevens' that is very much about the act of poetic creation and expression.
… [more]A year of haiku, and other news
Haiku Diem reached Day 365 today!
In my Haiku Diem blog post about this milestone, I announce that I'll be producing a book of the best haiku from the past year, and that my readers will be able to vote on the final three to be included, and possibly win a free copy of the book just by voting. (Please do check it out, and cast your votes!)… [more]
50 haiku in 50 days
Two days ago, I posted my 50th haiku in 50 days on Haiku Diem, and this seems like a good point at which to reflect on how the effort is going.
… [more]Have your Pi and read it, too
I just learned that today is International Pi Day and thought I'd share this poem I wrote a while back:
… [more]Haiku Death March(?)
I've begun an experiment to see if I can write one new haiku every day.
… [more]