Red Room Where the Writers Are

Toasting Yvor Winters with Ronald Johnson, Palo Alto (1990)  »

“verse being but an ornament and no cause to poetry, since there have been many excellent poets that never versified, and now swarm many versifiers that need never answer to the name of poets”

Captain's Blog - Stardate July 18, 2008 »

Back on earth, in the bosom of my family - I was just joshing about the light-speed effects - that was all proven to be wrong two centuries ago - in fact, I lifted most of the ideas from "Hitc

Hex, the Corpse Flower, and Berkeley’s Tree-Sitters: A Summer Sabbatical »

This spring, I mailed off applications for our boys to attend an academically challenging summer school run by the University of California at Berkeley. When the letters arrived in the mail telling us whether they’d been admitted, I opened them with mixed emotions – perhaps even a certain amount of dread. Both boys were admitted, which made me proud. But that also meant we’d be setting our alarm clocks for 6:30 every morning to make it to their classes in Berkeley, which would begin at 8:30 a.m. sharp.

New Pages for Jesse James in the Mayan Underworld »

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys... 'cuz this might happen.

Chapter One of "The Mandrake Broom" Just Posted »

Hey, check out chapter one of my new novel, The Mandrake Broom, in the "Article/Story" area.  It sets the scene in Italy 1465 and introduces you to Luccia, the protagonist, her mo

The Joy of Soup »

When the air is seeping from my balloon, when I've lost my vim and vigor, when I need an infusion of strength and guts and oomph, I need soup.

Collaboration »

I think one reason I'm having trouble surrendering myself to my new book is that I'm just burned out on the loneliness of the writing life.

A blooming good time »

  This past Sunday, I had the extreme honor of speaking at the Emily Dickinson museum as part of their "Poetry in the Garden" series.

Some Weeks Make Up For YEARS... »

The past few years have been tough. You know, several people dying, financial/emotional strain, exhaustive Sisyphus type tough. There have been good things, of course, here and there. And I am, after all, an optimist at heart. But yowza, I hit the motherlode this week and it just seems like the bad crap melts away, doesn't it? First, Matters of Faith, out on August 5th, has been chosen as an IndieBound (previously BookSense) Notable Title for September!

New interview out »

I answer "20 questions in the Hot Seat" out at The Wry Writer - http://wrywriter.com/?page_id=93

People of the Book »

The Jewish People are widely known as the People of the Book and not without reason—books are implicit to the Jewish People from the seminal beginning 4000 years ago with the

Sometimes I Feel Like a Housewife »

like today, when I'm at home at 10:00 a.m., chatting it up with the dishwasher repairman, who moved here from the Ukraine twenty years ago and, God love him, keeps dropping the kind of hints for which

Radio Interviews »

I love doing radio interviews!

My Resistance to 'They' with a Non-Gender-Specific Singular Antecedent: Going, Going ... »

The other day in my column, I ran an interview with Grammar Girl, the queen of the grammar podcast and my new e-friend.

The DAY »

July 18th. The DAY.

A Thrilling Few Days »

As many of you well know, we had Thrillerfest in New York this past weekend. It was a lot of fun reconnecting with old friends, meeting new, and in general, a pretty good time.

Don't Let Your Middle Sag! »

A lot of stories I read start out strong then lose momentum.  When this happens, I find myself either putting the book/ms. aside or flipping to the last few pages to see how it all works out.

Pablo Neruda's Love Sonnet 78: A Translation »

78No tengo nunca más, no tengo siempre. En la arena la victoria dejó sus pies perdidos. Soy un pobre hombre dispuesto a amar a sus semejantes.

Blog Round Up »

This is what some blogs are saying about my book (and I am happy to report that everything so far--knock on wood--has been praise). No stones thrown yet.

Time »

This year is a banner year of big birthdays.  My younger sister turns forty, my older sister turns sixty, and my husband turns fifty.  My bank book turns to dust.  We are a party family, so there a

A Picture Perfect Vacation »

It is true that a picture captures a thousand words, but I recently discovered that many of my family snapshots are lying cheats.

What We Lose »

Yesterday I had the occasion to think about "stuff" again.  Possessions.  The things we call ours.  As I was sitting with my mother eating lunch, I raised my right hand to fidget with

My first mention in Publishers Weekly! »

From the Publishers Weekly of 7/7/08:Morbid Auction

I LOVE getting older »

I had my 2 and a half year check-up on Tuesday and while I don't like getting MRI's, not only is it freaky to lie face down and get sucked into that narrow tube and feel ice-cold potentially

Novel 101-Or Why I Love Massages »

Bet that got your attention, huh? Okay, so here's the scoop--

Barely Keeping Up »

News: two Bywater books are finalists for awards at the GCLS conference, one of them mine. Miss McGhee is shortlisted for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice award.

The anonymous writer »

One thing I wrote about when I set this blog on its current course was that most of my professional writing so far has spared me a lot of critical scrutiny as a writer.

If You're Going to San Francisco Be Sure To ... »

Just a note in the How cool is that?  and One more reason to love SF vein: 

What is Poetry? An Attempt to Answer Belle's Question (1 of ??) »

The gracious, multi-talented Belle Yang has posed a question that, to me, is the equivalent of "What is the meaning of Life?" : ) That is to say, "What is poetry?" has as many

Not What I Intended at All »

So a friend read a draft of a story I’m working on, and his reaction was "meh." That’s okay. Not only was it a draft, but I wanted an opinion, not a compliment. Still, he was kinda distant afterward, and for several days when I saw him he remained quiet, answering questions with one word responses. Finally I pinned him down and said, “Hey, what’s going on here?” “I just didn’t realize that’s how you felt about me.”

A friend is near death »

I found out today that a friend (not that close to me but very close to others who are very close to me, and a person I have known for a very long time) is near death from a perforated intestine.

Captain's Blog - Stardate July 17, 2008 »

Four hundred parsecs from Alpha Centauri, Earthbound again at Warp factor 9 - the only problem with light-speed travel is that every time we return to Earth, our previous families have died again -

Thank You For Your Answers to What Is Poetry? »

It is frightening to ask a question ,because no one may answer you or think the question stupid, too precious, too cute.

SHOPPING »

The only time some people ever, ever get to be alone is in the mall.

The "Drawer" Novel »

I once wrote a “dirty” book called Showing Pink.  "Some people write about sex using metaphors," a friend told me. "In Showing Pink, you use sex as a metaphor for everything else."

Great Party! »

Many thanks to the Redroom staff and Will Durst, for the jolly gathering at Tosca Tuesday night!

A Dishonor Killing Attempt in Henrietta, NY. . .and Other Thoughts »

Several news items caught my eye this week. . .

Thurs: 7/17/08: Impeachment "Off the table"? What about Abortion? »

  According to the Office of the Speaker of the House, the Bu

The Thought Crossed My Mind That I Might Have Slept With Him »

Last night I did a reading at The Depot in Mill Valley, CA. Five minutes before the reading was scheduled to begin, there were only three people in the room, all of whom I knew.

In good company »