I began journaling 30 years ago. To give my journal a focus, I created an imaginary alter ego to whom I bared my soul. I began blogging seven years ago without knowing to whom I was writing or why. I wrote whatever came to mind and posted it. I don’t promote a product or a service. […] (Read more)
If San Miguel de Allende is magical, then it is no surprise that the San Miguel Writers’ Conference spins the magic of place into an enchanted garden of the writer’s craft. Known as the literary crossroads of the Americas, the San Miguel Writers conference attracts attendees from around the world for five days of intense […] (Read more)
Table. Dining table. Four chairs. Tangerines. Bright orange. Full of seeds. Hand-picked. Ripe. Oatmeal raisin cookies (My favorite cookie in the world). Karen, Annis, Kathleen. The four of us—writers training for an imaginary writing Olympics. Team Bakersfield takes the field. Watch us flex our imagination, stretch our minds, expand our souls, spill our guts in […] (Read more)
When you’re a writer there’s you and there’s writing. There has to be a third thing. I’ve already said “writing,” so it has to be something other than that. What’s my third thing? Me, writing, and photography. Photography is a form of writing—writing with light. I have loved photography since I got my first camera—a […] (Read more)
How the Light Gets In, Pat Schneider’s latest book, convinces me to take my writing to a deeper level. My intention to confine this activity to a journal devoted to that purpose raised the issue of which journal to choose. Rather than purchase another journal, I took an inventory of my stock on hand. As […] (Read more)
The Summer Solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere this year on Thursday, June 20, at 10:04 p.m. (PDT) when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, its farthest point north of the Equator. Great controversy surrounds the Summer Solstice. How can it mark the first day of summer? It is technically mid-summer, midway through the […] (Read more)
A ritual is a customarily repeated series of acts. A couple of days ago, while leafing through The Daily Writer, I read about the rituals of writing. The piece didn’t speak to me; but, the idea of “ritual” stuck. The LA Times crossword puzzle is a ritual, an act, repeated every morning. Little, if anything, […] (Read more)
Writing allows me to explore the landscape of my life. Intellectual curiosity is an important element of my life’s landscape. Working in college and research libraries gave me the luxury of indulging my curiosity almost any time. My library reference skills are a valuable asset. Maximum service is my reference service philosophy: Do everything possible […] (Read more)
Dennis: There’s a story I want to write. But, every time I begin, it never goes anywhere. I’m not certain if it’s a novel, a memoir, biography, personal essay, what. But, there is a story. I know there is. It keeps nagging me. Sarah: When it nags you, what do you do? Dennis: I avoid […] (Read more)
Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman’s collection of free-verse poems in tribute to America, was first published in 1855. I was introduced to Whitman by my friend, Richard. I was twenty. Richard was forty. Richard had a degree in literature from Bard College. I thought he was brilliant; he became a sort of intellectual godfather and […] (Read more)