Guests

I’m going to use this page to link to guest poets and writers. Click on the name to go to that post. You can also use the “search” feature.

Blog

My next reading…February 18, 2026 - 12:36 am
A quick heads’ up for anyone living near Pelican Bay Books & Coffeehouse in Anacortes, Washington. I’m really excited (and honored) to have been invited to read for the Madrona Reading Series, no less alongside the great Michael Daley. Saturday, Feb. 28, 6 p.m. Having a little difficulty pasting in the poster — I seem […]
What Am I Doing Here?February 14, 2026 - 7:40 pm
Okay, okay, I know it’s been a long time. What have I been busy with? Trying to undo some of the house problems that I had paid little or no attention to for the previous 40 years of my life. (For the previous 69 years of my life, now that I think about it.) Trying […]
Happy 195th Birthday, Emily Dickinson!December 10, 2025 - 4:13 pm
My Creative Retirement Institute class on Emily Dickinson’s fascicles wrapped up yesterday. The beauty (and the weirdness) of it was that focusing on the fascicles made it impossible for me to turn the class into “all of Bethany’s favorite E. D. poems.” In each class I asked, “What caught your eye? What do you want […]
Chris Dahl’s NOT NOW BUT SOONNovember 30, 2025 - 12:26 am
I’m pleased to let you know that my review of Chris Dahl’s Not Now But Soon, winner of the 2025 Concrete Wolf Louis Award, is now posted at Escape Into Life. (Be sure to explore the links!) Chris is one of the mainstays of Olympia Poetry Network (OPN); no matter where you live, they welcome new members, […]
The Autobiography of RainNovember 15, 2025 - 9:20 pm
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RAIN, Lana Hechtman Ayers. Fernwood Press, 2024. Lana Hechtman Ayers is a one-woman poetry dynamo. She is the managing editor of three Pacific Northwest poetry presses: MoonPath Press, Concrete Wolf Poetry Series, and World Enough Writers. She also leads generative workshops, helps people assemble their books of poems, teaches at conferences, and […]
Sheila Bender’s Writing It RealNovember 7, 2025 - 9:00 pm
It’s my pleasure today to share Sheila Bender’s Writing It Real substack. This week’s podcast features a trio of poets, Lillo Way, Lisa Ashley, and me. https://sheilabender.substack.com Sheila does a great job introducing us on the podcast, but if you don’t already know all about Sheila Bender, you should. She is the author of numerous […]
Emily Dickinson and the Mystery of the 40 FasciclesNovember 2, 2025 - 12:20 am
This post was supposed to go up on Halloween, but let’s settle for Day of the Dead. In short, I’m preparing to teach another Creative Retirement Institute course on Emily Dickinson, this one titled “Emily Dickinson and the Mystery of the 40 Fascicles,” which to my mind has a nice Arabian Nights or maybe Nancy […]
What I’m Reading NowOctober 14, 2025 - 11:34 pm
THE OCEAN CANNOT BE BLUE, POEMS by Kirsten Hampton. Turning Point, 2019, www.turningpointbooks.com. Detail from “One Drop” Rule If there is one emerald anchovy darting in the water the ocean cannot be blue — Kirsten Hampton, The Ocean Cannot Be […]
Breaking and EnteringSeptember 25, 2025 - 4:45 pm
After such a long dry spell, it’s a bit like breaking and entering to write here. On September 1, Bruce’s and my 40th anniversary, I tried to write a post to update you about my journey, but after I drafted it, I couldn’t bring myself to hit “publish.” Today, though I have some announcements or […]
What I’m ReadingJune 30, 2025 - 7:03 pm
I’ve had a mighty struggle this past few weeks to do even a minimum of writing (determined to catch up this week…we will see, and, after that, to begin blogging again). Reading obsessively about dementia, getting lost in political news…these things do not seem especially helpful to me. On the other hand, reading poetry, and […]