Jean Marie Baldwin hosted a beautiful tea on April 10. Tea sandwiches on beautiful tiered plates, china cups and teapots. Beautiful desserts. It was a lovely time and a pleasure to meet so many new interesting women. Many thanks to Jean-Marie and all the women who gave up a sunny Naples afternoon to talk books. … Continue reading Literary Tea and Book Reading
Book Parties/Readings
STANDING ON THE CORNER OF LOST AND FOUND Now Available on Smashwords.com/book/view/285701 $3.99 Framed by the political and social landscape of the sixties, this is a story about broken hearts and fragile dreams repaired through the indelible ties of friendship. KIRKUS REVIEW: Her writerly strength lies in her characters...they are complicated, flawed and believable. … Continue reading
Sample Story
I've enrolled Standing on the Corner of Lost and Found in the Kindle Direct Program which stipulates that you can't have any book content on your website. It's a 90 day trial that I thought was worth a shot. So, I've taken down the prologue and in its place, I'll be posting some of my … Continue reading Sample Story
New Poetry Book: FLOATING ISLANDS: New and Collected Poems
I have a new poetry book available. It may be purchased through the website or on Amazon at this point. Floating Islands is a rich fusion of sound and image, well seasoned with commentary on human connections, the impact of war, and the vagaries of relationships. Her poetry bears witness to the world we live … Continue reading New Poetry Book: FLOATING ISLANDS: New and Collected Poems
POETS AS WITNESS: WAR AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
National Poetry Month has come and gone. If you happen to live in a place that flourishes with poetry events, it’s like Christmas all over again; if poetry is pretty sparse in your community, not much happens. But it seems that wherever you may live, the spoken word gets out, as it always has. Through … Continue reading POETS AS WITNESS: WAR AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
An American Story
I’m taking a mini-course on the Harlem Renaissance at the College of St. Rose. Taught by the brilliant Mark Ledbetter, it seems that our conversation often drifts away from the subject but inevitably flows back to where we began in perfect asymmetry. His particular form of magic. The search for identity kept creeping back into … Continue reading An American Story
Genius Clusters?
I just finished reading Patti Smith’s memoir, Just Kids. It is the story of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in the time of a burgeoning New York City art scene of the 1960s and 70s. They WERE kids who arrived in New York with nothing but their determination to be artists. They wandered into one … Continue reading Genius Clusters?
Reading Revs Up the Brain
Are you one of those people who watch violent movies with a hand spread across your face, fingers splayed for a quick check to see if the pummeling is over? Does every volatile action make you feel sick? Are you like me when reading? Laugh out loud or sob as a story unfolds. As tears … Continue reading Reading Revs Up the Brain
IT’S COMPLICATED
A couple of things are on my mind today— what we think we know, what we really know, and how to learn more. There is a lot of talk in this election year about what the government should or should not do and should not pay for. It is characterized as wasteful, inept, almost like … Continue reading IT’S COMPLICATED
A Brief History of Lying
The research for the book I’m working on has gotten me thinking about the lies we tell. From our early childhood, we are counseled to always tell the truth. George Washington is our model for that until we’re much older and find out there were probably no cherry trees in his life. As children, we … Continue reading A Brief History of Lying