Since the beginning of March, the first thing Akram does when he wakes up is to reach for his sketchbook and pens and with the […]
13 Mar
When Robert Johnson recorded “Walking Blues” in 1936, he was working from a version Son House, not the Devil, had taught him. And the great […]
13 Mar
I have been enjoying the work of Neddi Heller for many years. There is always something there. Her painting, “Bird of Paradise, Bird of Destruction,” […]
12 Mar
On Valentine’s Day, I handed out my haiku postcard to my High Beginner ESL class at LaGuardia Community College. I had been teaching the class […]
7 Mar
At KGB in NYC not too long ago, I enjoyed hearing Dipika Mukherjee read from her newest book, Dialect of Distant Harbors, and wanted to […]
2 Mar
I’ve been wanting to have Susan Bee on the blog. Her upcoming show at A.I.R. Gallery was perfect timing. On Tuesday, I visited her […]
26 Feb
When I was eighteen, I saw a film of Matisse sketching his grandson. He did sketch after sketch, each time simpler. The portrait never […]
24 Feb
… When Alicia Ostriker sent me a poem called “All That Year,” I asked if I could record her reading it, and she said, “Yes.” […]
19 Feb
The poet and professor, Jamey Jones, asked me last summer if I would submit some poetry for publication in the magazine, Hurricane Review. It […]
18 Feb
… The year 2022 contained a lot of strife, illness and death, not only in the world around, but in my own life as well. […]
3 Feb
What follows is a lesson plan introducing High Beginner ESL students to the Present Tense, the simple present and the present progressive. The activities are […]
30 Jan
When I began to read William Considine’s new book, Continent of Fire, I was immediately drawn to a poem early on called “Library and Book […]
