Dawkins and the Wonder of It All
It is true that the unknown is the largest need of the intellect, though for it no one thinks to …
Category Archives: Creative Nonfiction
Good Prose and Good Science — Quibbling with the Masters
At first Steven Pinker was my new hero. Within the first few pages of reading his widely acclaimed “The Sense …
A Cranky Reader: What I Crave When I Read Poetry
I was invited to write a guest blog post about poetry on Luanne Castle’s Writer Site. The following was first …
Growing Up in a Haunted House
Last October I posted a series of true life tales about the hauntings, ghosts, and demons I experienced growing up, …
Downward into Darkness on Extended Wings
Wallace Stevens’ poem “Sunday Morning” ends with these lines: We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old …
20 Favorite and Most Influential Books
What follows are the 20 favorite books that helped shape the way I think and write. It was hard to limit …
More on “The Writing Life” with Annie Dillard
One of the things I love about Annie Dillard’s book “The Writing Life” is how it addresses both the drudgery and …
Making Music Wherever We Go – The Rhymes and Rhythms that Move Us
Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross To see a fine lady upon a fine horse. Rings on her fingers …
Song from a Dream – “My Queen’s Soul Lies Naked”
My dreams have always been enticingly rich and evocative. Often it’s as if I’m watching an elaborate film in gorgeous …
On Herds, Husbands & Riffing on Writing
Serendipity, it’s sometimes called. Those happy coincidences that lead to some unexpected pleasure or insight. Or synchronicity. Those meaningful encounters …
