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Susan Browne's Blog
October 8, 2009
- My father told me he always loved to drink, ever since he tasted champagne when he was eight years old, a small glass of it that his father gave him on Christmas. When he was eleven, my father got drunk for the first time. He found wine bottles stored in a neighbor's garage. His friends took a few sips, but my father drank a bottle. He wandered around the neighborhood and came home in a ...
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September 24, 2009
- I've said many farewells. By the time I was twenty-eight, I'd said good-bye to two husbands. Then I lived alone until I was forty-one, when I met Kenneth. I lived with him for nine years before we married. I didn't want to rush into anything. A part of me didn't believe I would stay. But the years passed, and we are still together. It never stops astonishing me, our first hello that ...
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September 12, 2009
- My husband Kenneth and I recently celebrated our sixteenth anniversary. We flew to Seattle and spent four days exploring the city and doing what we do so well: eating great food. Kenneth started cooking when he was four years old, following his grandmother around the kitchen. He never uses the word "chef." He's the real thing, a cook.A few Sundays ago, we had friends over for a ...
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September 2, 2009
- I've been a teacher for thirty-three years. My first teaching job was a Freshman Comp class when I was a graduate student in English. Twenty-four, I looked twelve. So I pinned up my hair and wore fake glasses and my best clothes, which consisted of one dress. I wore pumps. Taller, my hair in a bun--hopefully that would do it. I was a teacher! Some of my students were Vietnam ...
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August 15, 2009
- An article in the news today made me laugh. Here's the lead: In a shocking and very important poll, it is revealed that the average woman will cry for an equivalent of 16 months of her entire life. This phrase, particularly, is funny: "In a shocking and very important poll."I wasn't shocked, and this news isn't important. But after I was done laughing, I pondered women's ...
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August 13, 2009
- What I admire the most in other human beings is not their accomplishments, but their relationship to life. My definition of a hero: a person who is joyful among the inevitable sorrows. Joy is the most admirable quality, the most courageous in my book, second only to a loving heart. But the two are united. I doubt you can feel joy without a loving heart. My sister Cheryl is my hero. To be ...
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August 10, 2009
- I'm thrilled to report the publication date of Zephyr, my second book of poetry: September 2010. This book has been a labor of love for the past six years. I also wondered if it would ever make its way into the world. My friend and fellow poet, Kim Addonizio, said yes, yes, but I still wondered. Here is the press release. Just so happy to share the news:August 7, 2009We are pleased to announce ...
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August 5, 2009
- I just received the news: my second book of poetry will be published in the fall, 2010. More later on this when I get the press release, but I just had to share the news. It's been a long time coming--five years since I published my first book of poetry. Wow. I've waited so long, I wasn't even excited when I first heard. I was probably in shock. But now, I'm celebrating. We must ...
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April 27, 2009
- I wanted to share one of my poems, published today on this website:http://www.americanlifeinpoetry.org/current.htmlTed Kooser was poet laureate of the U.S. from 2004 to 2006. I've admired his work for a long time, so it was a wonderful surprise when I was contacted that he had selected this poem from The Mississippi Review. This website of poems is also a great teaching tool--short poems ...
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April 15, 2009
- I saw Leonard Cohen last night, master of duende. Out of all the celebrities in the world, I'd love to hang out drinking wine with Leonard. My husband and the friends we shared the evening with agreed. One of the best nights of our lives.What a soulful concert of poetry and music! Leonard played for a full-bodied two hours. He's 74---no concerts for the past fourteen years; he was ...
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April 14, 2009
- I just heard the news of the death of poet Deborah Digges. http://edwardbyrne.blogspot.com/2009/04/remembering-deborah-digges.html Here is one of Deborah's poems. I was reading it last night, before I knew of her death. I was reading an issue of Ploughshares on The Literature of Ecstasy and was so taken by this poem: My Amaryllis So this is the day the fat boy learns to take the ...
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April 10, 2009
- I woke up thinking about ecstasy. This is the first day of spring vacation, and that is ecstasy. I lay in bed looking at the opal-gray sky, listening to the tick of last night's rain dripping from the eaves and leaves, I went back to sleep. Ecstasy. When I woke again, I got up and made the rich dark coffee I make every morning. Ecstasy. I thought, Living is ecstasy, when did it ...
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March 8, 2009
- Hello Redroomers,April 4 and 5: I'm teaching a poetry workshop, two day mini-course, at the Pleasanton Poetry, Prose & Arts Festival. See Events for more information.November 20-22: I'm teaching a poetry workshop with Kim Addonizio at Esalen Institute. Check back later for more information. If you've never been to Esalen, come and see this amazing place and write poetry.
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February 18, 2009
- The other day, a student in my creative writing class told me he went to the Lafayette Reservoir because I had mentioned how I love to go for a walk/run there. In class, I had talked about the beauty of taking a six mile walk, alone, around the reservoir and how it clears my mind and spirit, as well as refreshing my body. I said new ideas often come to me when I'm walking. Sometimes I find a ...
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January 31, 2009
- I saw the film Revolutionary Road last night. It's a work of art on every level, the cinematography, the acting, the script. Based on Richard Yates' great novel, the script uses dialogue directly quoted from the book. Powerful. I was riveted. The film is a poem of brutal truth. It doesn't flinch. I won't say anything more about the plot, so I don't spoil the experience if you ...
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