Kakalak is open for submissions, and I encourage you to check them out and consider submitting your own work. I know I plan to submit mine. Here’s what you need to know: The Kakalak 2021 poetry and art contest is now open for submissions, and the deadline for submitting is May 23, 2021. Kakalak evokes the spirit of the Carolinas from the Outer Banks and Low Country to the Piedmont and Appalachia. Originally a regional Read More
reading in a changed world
I’ve always been a prolific reader, able to pick up and put down a book, read for a few minutes here, a few there, stay engaged in a story no matter how tiny my reading window. I’ve never needed a cozy corner, away from the brouhaha in order to concentrate. I’ve been known to stand at the stove, book in hand, eyes glued to the page while I stir sauce or soup or pasta. But Read More
puzzling
I’ve always loved puzzles. Mystery, intrigue, figuring out the answer, creating order out of chaos. Particularly in adulthood I’ve become a fan of jigsaw puzzles. And for a long time, the harder the better. The largest one I’ve done so far is 4000 pieces. I have a 9000 piece one that I have yet to tackle because, even with both leaves inserted, our dining room table is still too small. But as I’ve gotten older, Read More
What If?
What if politicians – on both sides of the aisle – admitted when they were wrong, asked for forgiveness, cared more about democracy and the people than themselves? What if rather than puffing themselves up, making themselves feel important, they listened, truly listened to their constituents, to each other? Because in the midst of the chaos and noise and bedlam, what I keep hearing is most people claiming a desire to protect our democratic ways, Read More
52 in 52 week 52, 2020: Persuasion
by Jane Austen, fiction My favorite Austen novel, Persuasion explores constancy versus fickleness, lasting affection as opposed to youthful infatuation, the things we do to please family rather than satisfy our own desires. As always, there is a satisfying ending, in this case two endings, both penned by Austen, one only shortly after the other’s completion.
Merry Christmas 2020!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of peace and joy! grace for each moment, one moment at a time
52 in 52 week 51, 2020: All the Flowers in Paris
by Sarah Jio, fiction This book had me weeping at the end. To quote one of the characters, this story “was both tragic and heartbreaking, but also redemptive and triumphant.” Though often hard to read, these stories of survival are important, paint a detailed, personal face on what can often become a blurred brushstroke of history.
52 in 52 week 50, 2020: Counted with the Stars
by Connilyn Cosette, fiction Cosette’s insightful view into the Biblical Exodus presents a freed slave’s perspective of the Hebrew’s departure. Full of pertinent historical detail, this story shows the heart’s tug toward freedom, the desire to protect loved ones, and the enormity of multitudes exiting Egypt while being led by a God some didn’t believe in.
52 in 52 week 49, 2020: The Baggage Handler
by David Rawlings, fiction Rawlings offers a revealing view into characters who are forced to confront their deepest fears and their deepest passions, to confront their own willingness to let go of weighted baggage they are carrying, whether it’s their own baggage, or baggage others have thrust upon them and they have refused to put down.
52 in52 week 48, 2020: Letters to the Lost
by Brigid Kemmerer, fiction Kemmerer offers a powerful story of grief and loss and their many facets, how we judge ourselves and other based on a single event, action, or day and how guilt impacts our perceptions. Ultimately it is a story of hope and healing, of being seen and known, recognized for the true self.