Next Poetry Collection Started
I’m 72 poems into my next collection. As usual, only about 50 will make the cut, which means I want to write 90 or so, to create a good variety to cull from. I’ve moved through a quiet period in my writing this winter—I stopped going to my weekly writing group on Sundays, just took notes as ideas and thoughts surfaced, and wrote down dreams, like these— I wear shoes that cause hurricanes … I can change the colors of walls by singing … I am talking in sign language and it turns into hula … I am creating huge, human-sized, stained glass insect wings for a gallery show … I…
Why I Write
Butt, Art
Whenever you start to question your own artistic choices, just remember: Picasso drew a butt.
Artist David Álvarez
Artist David Álvarez’s illustrates Noche Antigua (Ancient Night) in which an opossum and a rabbit work together—and against each other—to create and maintain the sun and the moon. The book is based on elements from ancient myths in several Central American cultures. Álvarez captures a sense of quiet magic with the simplified forms and hushed tones of his illustrations, which seem to glow from the illumination of the moon. You can see more of the artist’s work on Instagram and his Etsy shop, and find a hardcover copy of Noche Antigua on Amazon.
Poet Mary Oliver, 1935–2019
When Death Comes When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn; when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse to buy me, and snaps the purse shut; when death comes like the measle-pox; when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and I look upon time as no more than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility, and I think of each life as a flower, as…
A Wonderful Ursula Le Guin Memory
If you love Le Guin, you’ll love this article, these memories. Her Left Hand, The Darkness
Thoughts on Lost Libraries
Mandala Spirals, 2019
This year’s 12 mandala spirals, one for each coming month. This year, my theme was “Wings”. Snow Geese, Snowy Owls, Ravens, Kingfishers, Honey Bees, Morpho Butterflies, Bald Eagles, Dragonflies, Stellar Jays, Bats, Red-Tailed Hawks, Cardinals.
Glitch Artist
Having way too much fun with this new app—Glitch Artist—check it out. Makes “winter wonderland” take on an entirely new meaning.
Mediterranean Hillside Town Poster
Here’s a poster I illustrated for no other reason than that I love the architecture of Mediterranean hillside towns.
