Poetry and About Poetry

Join me and other local authors at the Culpeper Library Saturday Nov 1 at 2pm.

Join me and other local authors at the Culpeper Library Saturday Nov 1 at 2pm.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fit ending to this dystopian trilogy, written by Millennial author Veronica Roth. Supposedly aimed at a young adult audience, the Divergent novels may be read and appreciated by any reader. Along with the Hunger Games trilogy, which was written by a late Baby Boomer, these novels suggest implications for how some young people may view the way they are used and manipulated by older generations currently in power. In both cases, youths are forced to choose among several warped and limiting options. And in both cases, the larger society uses them as fodder in socially dysfunctional entertainments or oppressive functions. It may be too much to suggest parallels with the education traps we have created, the false hopes for careers and lives of meaning betrayed by decisions made by the elites and by history. On the other hand, it may not be a false analogy at all. View all my reviews

Allegiant by Veronica Roth My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fit ending to this dystopian trilogy, written by Millennial author Veronica Roth. Supposedly aimed at a young adult audience, the Divergent novels may be read and appreciated by any reader. Along with the Hunger Games trilogy, which was written by a late Baby Boomer, these novels suggest implications for how some young people may view the way they are used and manipulated by older generations currently in power. In both cases, youths are forced to choose among several warped and limiting options. And in both cases, the larger society uses them as fodder in socially dysfunctional entertainments or oppressive functions. It may be too much to suggest parallels with the education traps we have created, the false hopes for careers and lives of meaning betrayed by decisions made by the elites and by history. On the other hand, it may not be a false analogy at all. View all my reviews

My poem “Flowing Into The Adjacent Possible” has been accepted for publication in the winter issue of the Scapegoat Review.

My poem "Flowing Into The Adjacent Possible" has been accepted for publication in the winter issue of the Scapegoat Review.

Post by Germanna Community College .

Post by Germanna Community College .

Post by Germanna Community College .

Post by Germanna Community College .

Post by Germanna Community College .

Post by Germanna Community College .

My reading to Germanna students is available streamed here: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/7082119/events/3495279

My reading to Germanna students is available streamed here: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/7082119/events/3495279

When I was in high school and college, as is common for all of us at that time in our lives, I struggled to decide who I was to become. Would I be a scientist. I loved geology, astronomy, astrophysics, meteorology, paleontology, and so on. I did well in math and science. But I also loved literature and language. And I had been writing since I was 11 years old. Five books helped me see that there did not have to be a divide in me: Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse Narcissus the left brained monk, Goldmund the right brained artist and vagabond, were really two halves of one mind. Love and Will by Rollo May This work taught me that love was an action of will, to oversimplify, and that a life is richer by action and contemplation being interwoven. The Tao of Physics  by Frijof Capra still causes some controversy for scientists who think mysticism is pure bunk and mystics who see science as antithetical to a spiritual life. Capra suggests a way that brings both together, as does...

Country Music: Selected Early Poems by Charles Wright My rating: 4 of 5 stars A first-rate collection by Charles Wright. Wright’s poetry is spiritual without being self-righteous or self-indulgent. “When he lies down, the waters will lie down with him, And all that walks and all that stands still, and sleep through the thunder.” He is true to nature’s imagery but also is comfortable signifying through and by that imagery. “Don’t wait for the snowfall from the dogwood tree. Live like a huge rock covered with moss, Rooted half under the earth and anxious for no one.” He is not afraid of simplicity or of eloquence: “Home is what you lie in, or hang above, the house Your father made, or keeps on making, The dirt you moisten, the sap you push up and nourish” I enjoyed living some of my days reading this collection. View all my reviews

Country Music: Selected Early Poems by Charles Wright My rating: 4 of 5 stars A first-rate collection by Charles Wright. Wright's poetry is spiritual without being self-righteous or self-indulgent. "When he lies down, the waters will lie down with him, And all that walks and all that stands still, and sleep through the thunder." He is true to nature's imagery but also is comfortable signifying through and by that imagery. "Don’t wait for the snowfall from the dogwood tree. Live like a huge rock covered with moss, Rooted half under the earth and anxious for no one." He is not afraid of simplicity or of eloquence: "Home is what you lie in, or hang above, the house Your father made, or keeps on making, The dirt you moisten, the sap you push up and nourish" I enjoyed living some of my days reading this collection. View all my reviews

When I was in high school and college, as is common for all of us at that time in our lives, I struggled to decide who I was to become. Would I be a scientist. I loved geology, astronomy, astrophysics, meteorology, paleontology, and so on. I did well in math and science. But I also loved literature and language. And I had been writing since I was 11 years old. Five books helped me see that there did not have to be a divide in me: Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse Narcissus the left brained monk, Goldmund the right brained artist and vagabond, were really two halves of one mind. Love and Will by Rollo May This work taught me that love was an action of will, to oversimplify, and that a life is richer by action and contemplation being interwoven. The Tao of Physics  by Frijof Capra still causes some controversy for scientists who think mysticism is pure bunk and mystics who see science as antithetical to a spiritual life. Capra suggests a way that brings both tog...

My poem “Eden” has been published in “Literature Today”  http:// literaturetodayjournal.webs .com/issues

My poem "Eden" has been published in "Literature Today"  http:// literaturetodayjournal.webs .com/issues

My poem “Betrayals” has been published on “The Write Place at the Write Time.” http://www.thewriteplaceatthewritetime.org/poetry.html  

My poem "Betrayals" has been published on "The Write Place at the Write Time." http://www.thewriteplaceatthewritetime.org/poetry.html

My poem “Bad Dreams” is included in the inaugural issue of “The Birds We Piled Loosely” http://birdspiledloosely.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/october-2014-issue/

My poem "Bad Dreams" is included in the inaugural issue of "The Birds We Piled Loosely" http://birdspiledloosely.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/october-2014-issue/

Join me for a reading/book signing at Germanna’s Fredericksburg Campus Bookstore October 16, 2014 at Noon  http://www.germanna.edu/bookstore/

Join me for a reading/book signing at Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus Bookstore October 16, 2014 at Noon  http://www.germanna.edu/bookstore/