When I started writing fiction, I was told that, as a southerner, I’d been imbued with an appreciation for “my land” and “my people” and they therefore must be part of any story I set out to write. Imagine my confusion when I found that, despite reading vivid descriptions of endless varieties of red dirt, […]
What I Don’t Write (About): A Writing Mini-Manifesto from a “Southern” Writer Read More »
May 28, 2001, my 35th birthday, started out like any other day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the only blot on the day was my attendance at a Celebration of Life service for my teaching mentor who had passed away due to brain cancer. But I figured that if the memorial
Did you ever notice as you get older that you are turning into your parent? Surprising things come out of your mouth that only they would have said? Even if the mirror doesn’t reflect it, I am turning into my dad. Genes and DNA account for some of it. I have his short body build
Two years after John D. MacDonald moved from New York state to Sarasota, Carl Hiaasen was born in what was then a rural suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Florida. When Hiaasen turned 6, his father bought him his first typewriter, and he’s never stopped writing since. He was producing newspaper columns through high school and
Carl Hiaasen: Laugh Therapy Read More »
Early September, the tail end of summer on the high plains. Cicadas and crickets sing in the cool night. Overhead the full moon does a strip tease through gauzy layers of cloud. The night is, in a word, magical. On the radio the plaintive lines of a Bob Seger tune help turn the driver’s eye
Maybe you’ve heard the old saying about teachers not being competent enough to actually do the thing they’re teaching. After all, the logic goes, if someone is proficient at their craft, why would they forgo fame, acclaim, and the ability to purchase frighteningly expensive houses just to slum it as a teacher? The horror. I
Teachers and Doers, or: Those Who Can Do May Also Do Teaching Read More »