A line has been consistently popping into my head, “At the still point of the turning world.” I spent one semester reading T.S. Eliot, and I have since been haunted by his words, and honestly, I have contributed to this haunting as time and again I have gone back to read various sections of Ash […]

A few years ago I picked up an issue of Poetry magazine and encountered Scott Cairns, who was described as a Christian poet with the modifier “Christian” in no way intended to be pejorative. As I read his work, and through an interview got to know a little bit of his thinking regarding faith and […]

Haiku. It’s a form of Japanese poetry that encourages a poet to play with words and meaning in a compact form. With its simple structure of three lines, the first being comprised of five syllables, the second with seven syllables, and the last with five syllables, it’s relatively easily to play with, but certainly not […]

I am currently taking a class on Creative Non-Fiction, a class designed to expose MFA students to various kinds of works within this genre, so that they may identify and analyze the various techniques that authors use in crafting their works. One of the authors that I had the good fortune of reading is David […]

I first encountered the poem below, by Bob Hicok, in an issue of Poets & Writers magazine and was absolutely throttled. He inspired me for a season to write, write, and write. I am absolutely envious of his voice and talent, and I admire his down to earth attitude about writing. This quote gives a […]

I translated the following poem for my Translation of Chilean and Spanish Poetry class. It is by Homero Aridjis, a poet and journalist who abides in Mexico. The process of translating is one frought with many challenges, a reality that is manifold for poetry. I am in debt to the professor for certain aspects of […]

The following parable was written by Franz Kafka, and it has inspired numerous interpretations. So, read it and tell me what you think it means. Before the law sits a gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot […]

This is perhaps a work in progress, and yet I am comfortable enough to post it. Chris, if you read this, it was inspired by an event that I was not aware of until you lifted the veil. For anyone else, as I have heard recently and come to agree with, the author is not […]

The following is from a poem by Pablo Neruda that continues to touch my soul in a way that I cannot quite articulate. Again and again I have returned to it because it evokes a sense longing and melancholy that oddly enough I enjoy. This to me is the religious dimension of poetry (and all […]

Today I would like to pose a question: Why do we tell stories? To give you further avenues to explore, consider the following related questions: What do you think it is that attracts us to stories. What is the function of stories within a culture? On what basis do we consider a story worthy of […]