I participated in a writing panel at my church. The woman to my right is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Part of what makes her so funny is the fact that she says what she says in church. In front of God and the baptismal font and that huge Bible! She does not hold back. She uses… View Post

I recently applied for a job to write the equivalent of Cliffs Notes for classic, YA literature, and poetry (would’ve been a pretty cool gig), but alas, I didn’t get it. However, one of the questions I was asked had to do with my favorite book when I was a teenager, and it was fun to think about and come… View Post

From the panel I got to be on at church: I have read tons of books on writing – how to write, why to write – I have an MFA in Creative Writing, I am in constant conversation with others about the craft, but no book has told me more about writing’s call – what it does, how it feels,… View Post

Harper was confirmed in our church last night, and I wrote a little something to introduce her (because of course I did). Here are some things to tell you about Harper: She is an artist. She is a reader. She is a collector – of colored pencils, of scraps of paper, of rocks with the names of places she’s been…. View Post

I did not write this month’s Darling Files contribution. It was written by a former 8th grader of mine. When I taught metaphor, I would share the poem, “Identity” by Julio Noboa Polanco. The poet considers the beauty and strength and courage in being a weed as opposed to a flower “harnessed to a pot of dirt.” “I’d rather be… View Post