A CONSPIRACY OF BLACKBIRDS, Terri Cohlene, MoonPath Press 2026. I want to describe Terri Cohlene’s long overdue debut poetry collection, A Conspiracy of Blackbirds, as a hodge-podge, but only if you understand hodge-podge as that strange little store crammed with ancient washing machines, pitchforks, maybe a statue of Cupid or a wrought iron hen with […]
I’m overdue for a catch-up post. Last year, as you know, was a tough one for me. (I saw my husband twice so far this week, and he is thriving, acting as though living away from home is his new normal, happy to see me, sending me away with a list of things to procure […]
I am at the Stafford Challenge Conference at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and having a wonderful time. Naomi Shihab Nye is here, and she is one of my favorite all-time poets, so that’s a joy. I’m also enjoying getting to know Kim Stafford and looking forward to his workshop this morning. If […]
Still Life with Sorrow & Joy, Lana Hechtman Ayers, The Poetry Box, 2026 What a lucky thing to have poet-friends. I had two big deadlines at the end of May (didn’t quite make them, but almost); I’m teaching another Creative Retirement Institute Class (on William Stafford, and it’s going beautifully); and I seem to have forgotten […]