Posts tagged as:

non-fiction

Looking for Inspiration

December 2, 2009

“I dream a lot. I do more painting when I’m not painting. It’s in the subconscious.” —Andrew Wyeth, American painter
Inspiration is a funny thing. When you’re searching for it, it often becomes slippery and elusive. And yet sometimes, in strange and unexpected ways, creative ideas will sneak in unnoticed and take root in our minds.
There [...]

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Six-Word Memoirs

November 20, 2009

The novelist Ernest Hemingway was once asked to create a full story in six words or less.  Here is what he wrote:  “For Sale:  baby shoes, never worn.”
Last year, the online magazine Smith asked readers to take up the same challenge and write the story of their own lives in a single, six-word sentence.  The [...]

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Sliced: A Storytelling Event

November 16, 2009

On October 3rd I participated in a live storytelling event organized by Robert Hoekman at the Hob Nobs Cafe in Phoenix. I was one of 5 storytellers, and had 10-15 minutes to relate a somewhat autobiographical tale for the audience.
I’m a gabby fellow to put it mildly, so talking in front of others didn’t worry [...]

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“‘Tis an unweeded garden…” (Hamlet I.ii.135)

September 29, 2009

I spent Saturday morning trimming bushes. The shrubs surrounding my house had grown pretty wild over the summer, and if people saw them in a forest, they would likely say the flora looked good. However, nestled among the neat front yards of my suburban neighborhood, the plants looked ragged and unkempt. So after two hours [...]

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Literary License

August 28, 2009

My students are reading “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. Recently we went through the history behind the Salem Witch Trials and 1950’s McCarthyism that inspired Miller to write the play. Miller used the trials in Salem to comment on the tragedy that was unfolding during “The Red Scare”.
A point of confusion for my students [...]

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