Blog Posts for Jessica Barksdale Inclan

What Might Have Been

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:36:44 -0800

This early morning, I woke up thinking of something that happened 33 years ago, something that could have changed my life in the way that Elizabeth Smart's life and Jaycee Dugard's lives were changed. Even at the time, I knew it, and even now, it wakes me up from a sound sleep.At about 10 pm one evening in Orinda, one of my good friends and I set off from a friend's party. It had been a girl ...

Reading Aloud

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:23:10 -0800

Fiasco. Gamut. Proust. Intrinsically. These are words that my native-speaking English reading and writing students could not pronounce yesterday as we read aloud from screenplays. There were more words, and there were also words that my non-native speakers missed (the best was when one student said "shits" instead of "sits," changing the entire scene with that one ...

Letter of Recommendation

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:10:11 -0800

Deep into the armpit of this unusual and physically demanding semester, a former student wrote to ask if I could submit letters of recommendations to what looks to be about ten or so colleges and universities. If you haven't applied recently to a college or university, you will find that there are often online sites to do so and if there are not, there are additional forms to fill out and send ...

The Name I Can't Remember, The Place I Can

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:50:15 -0800

In the small town I grew up in, we had no bookstore for years and years, the library my solace on long Saturdays as I waited for my mother to get off work in her capacity as library assistant. And even when she was not working, I would stroll up the long path and find a chair, sitting for hours, pouring over and reading books and magazines.Later, Orinda Books finally opened, but it was at a time ...

Uterine Inspiration

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:36:41 -0800

I used to write a great deal of poetry, but all that inspiration, that spark that comes to me has of recent years been funneled into fiction. The start of a poem was like a whip crack of inspiration, and then I had to try to find the words to follow it up. I'd chase an idea around and around, hoping to do that first glimmer justice, most often not. But I loved writing poems. I also like ...

Sabbatical Nonsense

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:28:59 -0800

The last time I had a sabbatical, I not only wrote a textbook but I also figured out that I wanted to leave my marriage. Because I had the wherewithal at that time to take 70 percent of my salary for a year, I took a year off. It was a long, long year, full of wretchedness and a lot of time. And, yes, the summer following my sabbatical, I moved out.As you might imagine, I'm a little nervous ...

Halloween Night

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:58:11 -0800

Last night, we sat up on our driveway at a little table with a big bowl of candy and a pumpkin that kept trying to roll away and head back downtown. We moved into a very strong neighborhood watch type neighborhood, one that organizes neighborhood events, Halloween being one of them. this neighborhood is also home to about 20 young families, all with very small children, many under two, most ...

Do What We Teach

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:36:06 -0700

Once, a few years ago, I was sitting in my office at my college, minding my own business, reading a few papers. It was warm, sultry, a light wind whisking through campus. My door and window were open, and I felt of a purpose, a plan, content and busy and comfortable. Outside my office, a couple of students sat waiting for one of my colleagues, and they were arguing about some piece of ...

Enough News

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:23:10 -0700

Not getting a daily newspaper has proved to be okay in a few ways. The most important, I think, is that I don't know there terrors of the day before, at least, not all at once. the terrors will seep in, throughout the day as I click on various internet sites and then go out into the world and talk to people."Did you hear about the health care bill?" someone will ask."Why ...

Everything in a Cardboard Box

Jessica Barksdale Inclan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:31:19 -0700

Cardboard is attacking me, coming at me from everywhere. I moved into a stack of cardboard and then created a bigger stack. More things come to the house, covered in cardboard. I go out to open up things, break down the cardboard, and find that my contractor has filled the recycle bin with cardboard. I order three things from the same place, and each comes in its separate and too large ...