Swagger & Ink
Stories that traverse the landscapes of womanhood, aging, and the American West—where grit meets grace.
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- Aging Angry
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- Cruelty
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Now in Color, by Jackie Balderrama
Jackie's voice is so inviting! She engages social justice issues (race, language, family, immigration) with deep awareness and empathy and yet the book twirls with joy at every turn.
Ready for a Nuclear Thriller?
Nuclear Option is Dorothy Van Soest’s fourth novel and from page one, I knew I was in good hands. The work explores the tension between passion and restraint in crisp, resonant prose.
A Paean to My Red Heaven, by Lance Olsen
So many "ah ha" moments as we spot familiar figures in these pages. There's Hitler before he was Hitler and Billy Wilder before he wrote Some Like it Hot.
The Great Blueberry Muffin Battle
The mid 1980s saw heated debate in the De Gustibus column of the New York times. Who made the best blueberry muffins in Boston?
Baking Up a Resistance
Anyone who wonders why people are baking for comfort these days has never come home to the olfactory bliss of fresh chocolate chip cookies.
Nectar and Small
These pages sing in a voice that is nuanced and authentic. Contemplating the sandhill crane's millions of years on earth Balderrama asks, "Will we ever be allowed this kind of being?"
Hungry Ghost Theater by Sarah Stone (WTAW Press)
Hungry Ghost Theater takes us from Zanzibar to Santa Cruz through the trials and adventures of a truly complicated three-generation family.
The Virgin and the Whale (a delightful read!)
Carl Nixon writes with a deft touch and he blends post-modern and archaic elements in a mix that would land with a clunk if rendered by a less dextrous hand.
Making the most of the least I can do, by Bob Hicok
Sometimes a poem tosses me off balance in just the right way and I have to share it with you.
Promises, Wishes, and Koans (for Nathan and Sarah on their wedding day)
Long ago on a stormy day
a ribbon arced high
across the clouds—
Tremulous Hinge
I can't let go of Adam Giannelli's luminous poetry debut. Tremulous Hinge doesn't rest on the bed stand …
Heedless
Heedless we whirl over ground so green …
Corner Voyeur
They must have been walking to work, her neck caught in the crook of his elbow …
Every footprint casts a shadow
Every footprint casts a shadow …
Melanie's new book!
Last week Melanie (my writing teacher) read from her new book, Silence & Song.
Antidote for Self-Loathing
Have you ever looked in the mirror and groaned?
![Fly By [quest-narrative-in-progress]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63c8361892ae3916d128e35d/2c0850d6-c8b8-4a90-beac-b6876e666131/Pluto+at+night+over+alien+landscape.jpg)
Fly By [quest-narrative-in-progress]
Barely awake from its long hibernation, packed tight: with an ounce of Clyde …
The Spider, The Lion, and The Elephant Fish
It was a blustery day and I found this poem on the beach.
Boots (Dunedin, 2015)
You gathered the soil of the Southern Alps on treks through every version of moisture falling.
Adamantine
Ice sheathes the earth. A crystal illusion, held by surface tension …
“Breathe Deeply, Read Widely.”