Hickory Smoked Turkey

If you were to ask either of my parents if I developed my love for writing from them, I imagine both of them would say no.  In the past few years, my parents have come to mean something different to me, figures that I rely on more than I thought I would at the age of thirty-five.  After I made it through the years of adolescent angst and drama, I came out seeing my parents in a clearer light.  And, after I went through a tough break-up and moved away, I realized how lucky I am to have the parents I have. There has always been a joke between me and my siblings that our family is straight-up wacky.  From post-it notes of frustration that my parents leave each other on the cupboards to the predictable bickering that ensues every holiday, we shake our heads and sigh.  It's true that sometimes it can be stressful watching your parents argue over small things over the years, but I've also learned how to look at that stress with a comedic eye.  My parents have b...

I'm currently teaching two English classes and what I've learned so far about myself and my students has little to do with commas or sentence fragments.  In many ways, I am driven to teach more than writing skills, I am interested in showing my students a sliver of topics or ideas that they may not have been exposed to yet. Last Friday I gave my students 5 minutes to respond to a writing prompt.  I asked my students what they were afraid of and their answers varied greatly.  When they turned their papers in I couldn't help but read them right away.  At the start of the semester I was frustrated by their lack of motivation, their refusal to speak in class and their blank faces.  But, after  getting to know them a bit, I realize that their silence isn't always due to lack of preparation.  Sometimes my students are silent because they have much scarier and stressful things going on in their lives besides my English class. I have one student who is ext...

I fell asleep dreaming of Detroit. The lost manufacturing jobs and the papers my grandpa used to sell on the corner of Livernois Avenue. In other words, I fell asleep missing you.

I was recently asked by my friend Lisa to join a blog tour that she is a part of.  I was excited to be asked but was even more excited when I found out what it was.  This activity would force me to look at my own writing life with the added bonus of meeting other bloggers along the way.  Before you get started, you should check out Lisa's blog and see what she's up to. http://lisamfuqua.com/author/lfuqua/ Below you will find my answers to some questions about my writing and below that you will find links to some awesome sauce blogs that I love.  I will be adding more blogs later this week.  So, hop on board the blog tour and have some fun. Questions: What am I currently working on? I am currently working on a mish mash of poems that are all over the place.  I am trying to put together a small chapbook so that I can start submitting my work.  I currently have poems about picking cherries in Northern Michigan with a man who looked like Garrison Keil...

I'm going to put it all out there in a very evasive and somewhat whiny way.  What I'm actually going to do is complain about writing. The past few months I've started writing more frequently, which is great.  As a writer, I should be writing all the time.  I should have a daily schedule for writing.  I should sit in front of my computer for hours on end, work on a poem, re-work a poem, revise said poem and continue the process until a manuscript is in my hands.  None of this has happened.  Part of the reason may be my natural ability to only do small tasks at a time.  I've never been one to dive into a huge project and become totally immersed.  I'm more of a "dip your toes in and see how it feels" kind of gal.  But, to get back on track, I have been writing more yet I feel really crappy about my writing. A few years ago I moved back to Pittsburgh and dealt with an emotional break-up.  I had four jobs, worked an insane amount of hours...

The orange and pink sky held the full July moon between the bridges as I boarded the bus.

Hi All, I've started writing micro-poems on a regular basis over at Twitter.  I'd love for you to stop by and check it out. https://twitter.com/onewaytosayit

With his cane, he points at the objects he wants us to take from his Harlem home. But, the jade warriors African drum and cockatoo are too much for us to carry alone.

With all that we lack there is abundance in a thank you dinner a gift of wine and fresh spinach in a ceramic bowl.

Check out my new blog: Lazy Bride! http://lazybridepittsburgh.blogspot.com/

This past week, past few months really, I've been complaining about the space I inhabit in my life.  There are so many things that I need or want that I almost feel like a kid and not an adult.  I took stock on all of the things, mostly materialistic, that I needed in order to feel like my life was on the right track.  Some of the things on the list were: winter boots, sheets that not only match but fit the bed, a comforter that fits the bed, curtains, new clothes, a full time job that will lead to a career, a pair of high heels and a dental appointment. Tonight, when I got home from work and started folding the mismatched/hand-me-down laundry, I had a realization.  This is the life I imagined when I was younger.  As a kid I thought mismatched, wonky towels and sheets meant that you lived an interesting life.  It meant that you had been places, that you collected memories and not "things."  I believed that in order to live the life of a writer, thin...

Happy Thursday! Hope you are well on this spring day. I recently served as the guest reviewer for the most recent edition of Blast Furnace Press.  It was a total "blast" and I was in awe of the talent out in the poetry world.  Check out the latest publication here: http://www.blastfurnacepress.com/ BFP is also holding its first chapbook competition.  You should consider sending your work to this wonderful Pittsburgh press.

Hello, Everyone! I'll be facilitating a creative writing workshop at Biddle's Escape starting May 13.  Check out the flyer and let me know if you're interested.

We have another reading coming up! Join us on March 23 at Amazing Books for an afternoon of word wrestling. Hope to see you there!

Check it out! We're back and ready to start the new year with some poetry. Join us on January 25th!

Day 1 This new year brings with it fresh snow, abundance and you. Day 2 January snowstorm from the view of a  hilltop apartment shows only the peace of a blizzard below. We are too high to notice the rest. Day 3 All but orange and red outline the window. Outside, the snow continues to fall and you are hours away. Day 4 Steam from the humidifier a gray cat on my lap and a poem in the air. Day 5 Sunday afternoon I walk in the woods with an old friend. Winter air woodpeckers above snow underneath our warm feet.