Indigenous Peoples Day

It’s hard to imagine the American Plains full of bison herds. Bison by the millions. As the U.S. expanded westward, bison were targeted by European settlers for extermination. The near-extinction […]

In the Heat of the Night

In the Heat of the Night (1967) is one of my favorite films in general, my favorite film about race, and my favorite film about the South. As far as […]

The Pride of Spancil Hill

The pandemic started around St. Patrick’s Day and I bought some Irish folk songs for celebrating, not thinking much of it. Little did I know I would fall deep in […]

New Poems

Despite the pandemic, I’ve been busy at work. Lots of writing. Recently, I published two poems–“Pandemic on St. Patrick’s Day” and “Madrid Tertulia”–at the Spanish online magazine Zenda. Both poems […]

"Take This Sabbath Day"

Something therapeutic about watching the first season of The West Wing during our national nightmare under Trump. “Take This Sabbath Day” is a beautiful story. It’s a story about the […]

This Week on Climate.gov

Please consider signing up for my weekly newsletter at NOAA, “This Week on Climate.gov.” I promote 4-5 stories each week, including feature essays from world-class science journalists, new and compelling […]

Dos Passos in The New Yorker

What a splendid way to end the year! Yesterday, The New Yorker published a re-appraisal of John Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy. These “second reads” of his books are rare indeed […]

Remembering Ellen Bromfield Geld

Ellen Bromfield Geld, farmer and writer, has died at age 87. She wrote nine books and had a marvelous, unique style of creative nonfiction. Sending love and light to her […]

Learning from Poet Ted Kooser

What a great manual for writers of all kinds. Just soaking up Ted Kooser’s relaxed, confident voice is a pleasure. After reading the book, I immediately went to work writing […]