Coloring Books Progress Report — Rediscovering the 18th Century with Belle

Imagination! who can sing thy force? Or who describe the swiftness of thy course? Soaring through air to find the bright abode, Th' empyreal palace of the thund'ring God, We on thy pinions can surpass the wind, And leave the rolling universe behind: From star to star the mental optics rove, Measure the skies, and … Continue reading Coloring Books Progress Report — Rediscovering the 18th Century with Belle

the ones left behind: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Reyna Grande, 02/09/15 (coloring books project)

Friends -- I took a look at a memoir that Vickie Vertiz recommended to me. "It's about who gets left behind in that trip from Mexico to the US," I remember her saying. I always feel a bit anxious reading work about Mexico. I don't speak Spanish, and I am not originally from the West … Continue reading the ones left behind: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Reyna Grande, 02/09/15 (coloring books project)

01/22/15 (coloring books project 2015): Nancy Rawles and Tananarive Due

Friends -- I'm sharing a blog post that I wrote for Whidbey Life Magazine here. In that blog post I speak a little about the work of Nancy Rawles and Tananarive Due -- two absolutely incredible African American women writers. But I'd like to say a bit more on a personal level about what they … Continue reading 01/22/15 (coloring books project 2015): Nancy Rawles and Tananarive Due

coloring books project — 01/05/15 — no more whitewashing

Friends -- today on Facebook I saw some terrible news. There is going to be a live-action remake of the Japanese manga-turned film Ghost in the Shell. And there will be no Asian actors in it. The lead role is going to be played by Scarlett Johanson. Alot of readers complained when Jennifer Lawrence got … Continue reading coloring books project — 01/05/15 — no more whitewashing

Story Time Sunday special edition, 12/28/14 – my favorite feminist fictions of 2014

Friends – I just finished reading Dana Johnson’s novel Elsewhere, California. You have to read it. It’s generous, funny, sad, and heroic. If you are a writer who wants to write about race and class, you need to read this book. If you are a writer who wants to write about women artists, you need … Continue reading Story Time Sunday special edition, 12/28/14 – my favorite feminist fictions of 2014

Story Time Sunday, December 21st, 2014 — The Time of Our Lives

  Last night I arrived early at the annual Solstice party hosted by two of my favorite people, Marie and Joscelyne. Their younger son, Jasper, was serving as lookout at the front door and announcing when guests arrived and an adult would need to come open the door. I was standing by the bar (surprise), … Continue reading Story Time Sunday, December 21st, 2014 — The Time of Our Lives

Sunday Night Special pre-chanukah edition, December 14th, 2014

Friends -- this has been a difficult, discouraging autumn, here in the United States and elsewhere. In the middle of this moral and political melancholy comes Chanukah, the so-called festival of lights -- a celebration filled with fried food and nightly presents, behind which lurks the complex historical shadow of a rebellion against foreign occupiers. … Continue reading Sunday Night Special pre-chanukah edition, December 14th, 2014