Glen Finland on the Power of Storytelling
Meeting other formidable writers is one of the great benefits of attending a writers residency. And so, last January, I had the great fortune of meeting Glen Finland during my residency at the VCCA. She is the author of the memoir Next Stop about what happens when an autistic son grows up. We first met over breakfast, and afterwards I [...]
The Power of Practice
While I am off amidst the frenzy and heat of the World Cup in Brazil, I leave you with a post on practice, inspired by Natalie Goldberg's newest book, The True Secret of Writing. I wrote about finally reading her classic Writing Down the Bones earlier this year, and an article in the July issue of The Writer magazine where [...]
Joy is…
...when the team you're rooting for in the World Cup 2014 not only shoots a goal, but wins! That picture is joy captured, right? My daughter took it as a snapchat from the TV screen just as U.S. coach Jürgen Klinsman jumps up in joy when the referee blew the whistle ending the game and the U.S. team won 2:1 [...]
My Writing Process – A Blog Hop
Writing on the couch I've been tagged by my friend Gillian Marchenko, a former student of mine and author of the memoir Sun Shine Down, to participate in the #MyWritingProcess blog hop. Writers are asked four questions about their process and then pass on the baton to a writer friend or two. This blog hop is the brain child of [...]
In Honor of Father’s Day
I'm rerunning my six-word Dad memoir from three years ago, that sadly will always be true because, even 29 years after he died, the tears can still creep up on me when I am reminded that he never got to be a grandfather to my children, or that I can't chat with him about what it's like when your [...]
Unveiling: The Chicago List Essay Project
Our Chicago - Eleven Writers on their City - Edited by Annette Gendler | Make Your Own Book I published a book with my students! Our Chicago is a collection of list essays about Chicago. After coming across Aleksandar Hemon's essay “Reasons Why I Do Not Wish to Leave Chicago: An Incomplete, Random List,” it occurred to me that writing list essays [...]