Adjective: Picaresque: 1. relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero. Noun: Picaresque novel: A novel relating the story of such a character. The picaresque is not a new thing. Famous novels in this vein include Tom Jones, Huckleberry Finn, and, the granddaddy of […]
My Life is a Picaresque Novel Read More »
Actually, it’s not necessarily a Chinese proverb about wealth per se. It’s a quote that I found long ago in a poem in the Tao te Ching. This is a book of philosophical poetry, 2000 years old, translated from Chinese. Leo gave this book to me the year we met, along with Candide, by Voltaire,
A Chinese Proverb About Wealth Read More »
I told the kids about the divorce. And that brought up, indirectly, the memories of Texas. I don’t know how this happened. How the breakdown of the family somehow became synonymous with the sojourn in the Big State. I don’t even know if it’s fair. Sometimes one thing gets to stand in for something else
This Texas Thing, and Did it Actually Kill a Marriage Read More »
First of all some brief details on traveling Trail Ridge Road: What: A 48-mile long route along the tops of the Rocky Mountains, crossing the Continental Divide, and allowing serene and amazing views of the tundra ecosystem, the mountain sky, and snowy cirques. (Cirques are those bowls near the mountain peaks that catch snow and
In Which I Visit Trail Ridge Road Read More »
Bad Relationship: Just Say No? It’s hard to say no to a bad relationship. We’ve all got FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out. It’s hard to deal with. If you leave your relationship, you’ll be outside, woman. Alone on Friday night. No one to pick you up if you run out of gas, or to move
Can You Just Say No to Your Bad Relationship? Read More »
I don’t often read books about Being a Writer. Because you know I’m above all that, ha ha ha. At least I used to think I was. But Bird by Bird is famous among writers, a book that everyone at writer’s group has heard of. Of course I didn’t rush out to read it. Because
Review: BIRD BY BIRD. And thank You, Anne Lamott. Read More »
I have to admit that though I loved this book, which concerns the sudden death of Didion’s husband, John Dunne, after nearly 40 years of marriage, I did not completely believe it. That is perhaps my central critique of Didion’s masterwork and of the Didion magical thinking theme. Her claims about her marriage, her claims
Book Review: Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking Read More »
Although writing contests have long charged entry fees, and this is considered justified because it’s a contest and there are significant prizes to be won, submitting your work to various journals used to be uniformly free. Now in the last ten years, more and more literary magazines are charging writers to submit to their regular
93 Lit Magazines With No Submission Fee Read More »
