Mother’s Day: a Rant

Last night, I dreamed several of my closest friends died. I’m at the point in life where I attend memorials with increasing frequency and weddings hardly at all, but the dream was not about that. It was about a Mother’s Day visit with family. We are not close. There are no bad feelings that I’mContinue reading “Mother’s Day: a Rant”

Review of “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott

The Stuff: This book consists of short, interrelated essays and anecdotes on writing and being a writer—being a human—grouped around larger themes. The parts are 1) Writing, 2) The Writing Frame of Mind, 3) Help Along the Way, 4) Publication and Other Reasons to Write, and 5) The Last Class. One of the essays inContinue reading “Review of “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott”

Review of “Reading Like a Writer” by Francine Prose

In discussing writing workshops and classes, author Francine Prose writes, “But that class, as helpful as it was, was not where I learned to write. Like most—maybe all—writers, I learned to write by writing and by example, by reading books.” (p .2) But using what the author calls “close reading,” a writer can learn variousContinue reading “Review of “Reading Like a Writer” by Francine Prose”