As winter fades into the green of spring with occasional final throes of cold weather, I've been reading Korean and Chinese poetry that focuses primarily on autumn and winter, which seems a fitting way to close the season. If this is your first foray into Korean or Mandarin poetry, I suggest starting with more accessible …
Continue reading Poems for the Winter: Poetry Collections from Joseon Korea and Communist China
Whether you’re looking for a baby shower gift, growing your kids’ book collection, or satisfying your own love for picture books, I think you’ll find something for your shelf in the roundup below. Stories My mother introduced me to Corey R. Tabor’s picture books last year—and what a treat they’ve proven. The ones I’ve read …
Continue reading Picture Book Roundup: Stories, Colors, and Science Fun
In case you haven’t noticed, I have a lot of associations. Even salt and sugar bring specific people to mind: my two grandmothers. Grandma was born in Louisiana and moved to a state closer to the North than the South (in my mind, at least), where she’s lived for over sixty years. Grandmama was born …
Fireworks crack the door ajar, and piercing light peeks through at break of night. Noisy with neglect, the hinges can only creep and screech. Then, with a bang and final flash— we’re inside, December’s din diminishing into the dark. We’re here in midnight’s silence, slipped over the sill. Now all is hushed and …
I thought this might be a fun way to close out 2024. After all, nothing hits the spot this time of year quite like a bit of introspection, right? My blogging adventure has spanned more than a decade, and I've blogged in groups, as well as solo. When so many other writing bloggers burn out, …
Another December is upon us, and as I've done each year for more than a decade, I'm reviewing a few Christmas books I discovered in the past twelve months. I hope you find some new treasures to enjoy. My two favorites were Christmas Farm and The Carpenter's Gift, both lovely little books about Christmas trees. …
I see Sam up ahead. I can see him frisking in the shoulder where the road curves, right by the curb. He’s a petite ginger tabby with two white socks. At first, we thought he was a kitten, but he hasn’t grown since then, so perhaps this is as big as he gets. I don’t …
The road rises and falls ahead of me, Dusty gray asphalt shouldered by the Pale burnt orange of summer grass That whispers dryly as I pass. Down the center of the road between the pines, I notice how the mustard double lines Match the nodding goldenrod and Black-eyed Susans that stand Tall along the highway’s …
We all met each other’s glances hesitantly, worried that eye contact might break down our fragile control over our emotions. It was ocular tiptoeing. Not wanting to be obvious about avoiding each other’s eyes—because that would make it worse—but worried one look might bring us tumbling down. And we knew that if so much as …
The United States of America was barely 60 years old when French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville published the final volume of Democracy in America in 1840. At over 700 pages long, you might wonder how de Tocqueville could find so much to say about such a young country...and whether any of it was worth …
