From Memory to Memoir It’s been awhile since I’ve taught online. After hearing the wonderful stories created in my in-person workshops I want to reach out to folks further from my home. If you want to create vibrant memorable stories from your own life, explore the relationship you have with…
“Getting lost is not a matter of geography so much as identity; a passionate desire, even an urgent need, to become no one and anyone, to shake off the shackles of who you are not in order to become who you are.” One day a young woman decided to go…
On January 3rd at 3 a.m. my very first grandson, Luca Maliek Timothy Donovan was born. He’s well. Mama and Dad are getting better and asking the age old questions, “how do I keep him alive?” and “what have I done?” Here is a poem for little Luca from John…
Why Do Stories Matter? Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.— Ben Okri In the face of the apocalyptic news we are surrounded by daily, we can justifiably ask why do stories matter? Will a story bring back lost homes and lives? Will it restore infrastructure,…
“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be Notorious.” Rumi Today I started teaching a class “Living Out Loud ” for the Transformative Language Arts Network . The first class addresses how fear and shame silence us. What do we fear when we consider sharing a…
Part of every storyteller’s summer is performing in public libraries, usually not like this one. More often like this Dave Ruch and I met last summer when we were both doing a showcase for the Northern New York Public Library System. Dave’s work was wonderful, interesting, kid friendly and very…
My old high school is the home of the Vikings. Thousand Island High School is smack dab between Clayton, my hometown and Cape Vincent. My class was the first graduating class to leave Clayton Central School and go to TI High. This was a long time ago and I expected…
This Thanksgiving the turkeys came home to roost. When I was a child Thanksgiving was so much fun. My mother rose early to stuff and bake a 25 pound turkey. Mary and I peeled ALOT of potatoes, each of us seeing how long we could make the peels before they…
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.” Henry David Thoreau The West Texas Hummingbird Feeder Cam is nestled in the mountains outside Fort Davis, Texas, at an elevation of over 6200 feet. This site hosts a total of 24 Perky Pet…
I told myself, “It’s just a chair. Get rid of it. It’s only a chair.” Ah, but what a chair. Big, soft, comfy, and a recliner. A real chair. A sit back, put your legs up, pop the top, watch tv, fall asleep in, and drool kind of chair. A…