The cold darkness outside the house seemed to increase the warmth and brightness inside as the ladies laid out their dishes and serving spoons in the dining room and chatted in the kitchen. The appetizers were already disappearing and undergoing discussion as the women exchanged recipes and tips, dabbing crackers into warm cream cheese dips …
Ten years and 59 books later, my Christmas blogging tradition that began in 2013 continues with another literary December tribute, bringing my Christmas book review total up to 65. I hope you find some new gems for your Christmas library in the reviews below. The Legend of the Poinsettia / retold and illustrated by Tomie …
Continue reading A Decade of Decembers: Christmas Legends & More To Enjoy This Season
“One of the first things I noticed was how much they loved to laugh.” Kallie had once heard someone comment that about his first impression of his coworkers who lived in the South. Kallie had noticed the same trend in her own workplaces. In fact, laughter had made every job better and brighter for her. …
"New Seed" A pressed tree leafs out, painted veins distilling light— a seed sprouts within. "Tree Speak" Rustle, groan, and creak, paper pierced with ink. Silent? No, they ever speak. Both of these haiku explore how trees can be more than merely trees. They can create new worlds and have voices of their own when …
“Guess how old I be?” It felt like a dare, a test, and a trap all at once. Anyone with half an ounce of sense knows never to talk about a woman’s age, even if she asks, especially if she asks. But this woman was insisting with a somewhat gap-toothed grin, bent on pulling us …
For me at least, every poetry journey starts in an unexpected way. If you’re reading this after watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix, then your journey to this spot had the same origin as mine a few months ago: the brief quote from the poem “Charcoal” by Ahn Do-Hyun that appears in Episode 12 of …
Continue reading Poems for the Autumn: A Collection of Korean Poetry by Ahn Do-Hyun
This story has been waiting for words for a while, building up pressure and momentum, weighing on my heart as I gather it in bits and pieces. The stuff of life put under pressure, I hear, is what produces diamonds. But to put it in such blunt words as carbon and pressure feels uncouth, not …
Horse stories have captured our imaginations for quite a while now, perhaps explaining the existence of eyebrow-raising horse film subgenres, from Hallmark movies with faith themes to straight-up romance stories. You know you’ve seen it all when you scroll past Rodeo & Juliet or Horse Crazy Too. In this herd of horse movies, a few …
Continue reading My Top Seven Horse Films (Five Based on True Stories)
Twin paths that travel a thousand miles side by side, arms locked forever. The inspiration for this haiku came to me as I was driving along an interstate overpass and saw the twin silver rods of a railroad winking at me through the trees below. I thought about how this pair of iron rails rides …
“Write what you know” is a piece of advice I’ve often followed, but I never thought it would lead me here. If your struggles are similar to mine, though, I hope the tips below will prove useful. These ideas apply to any cards you receive—birthday, Christmas, thank you notes, or even blank cards that you …
Continue reading 5 Ways To Repurpose Notecards You’ve Received
