I wake up angry with Raymond Carver(whom I love, who is long dead and cannot suffer my anger,cannot even pour me gin or offer cigarettes),for bestowing literary domain on Tess Gallagher.Tess had nothing to do with it.She showed up late to his curly, black hair and meticulous prose. It was Maryann, who traded her sixteen […]
I Wake Up Angry with Raymond Carver: For Maryann Burk Carver Read More »
Having a child was the most beautiful experience of my life. But it seems they are never satisfied. For example, Arnulfo. When they found that I was going to have a child, right away they assumed that I would marry the father. “Linda,” they said. “Have you thought how Arnulfo and you can live? What
God Wanted Arnulfo to Marry Me Read More »
“Welcome to gladiator school,” I tell a freshly transferred inmate as smoke from a fire in the cell block fills the corridor and ten of my fellow guards trod by in heavily armored riot gear. We pick him up off the ground, and I note his terror and confusion. This place, buried behind endless layers of concrete
Reflections of a Former Federal Corrections Officer Read More »
The carnival is sick freedom, something less, passing through town, barking forbidden desires, promising an untranslatable ticket to the show. Our parents encouraged this. They wanted us to rub up against something different, strange and welcome, but only for an instant, in the blink of an eye. “Love but don’t touch,” they said, “and don’t admit
I’ve spent the last fifty years or so writing songs, performing them, trying to sell them, all without the slightest financial reward. Well, I overstate – back in the early 1980s, I played many paying gigs with a small group, Toy Boat. In 1982, Toy Boat had had two extended gigs at a Westside club
How to Avoid Success Read More »
California is one of America’s leading agricultural-producing states. Losing any of California’s food production would lower the economy and the support of a growing population. However, an increasing problem in California is decreasing soil health, leading to unusable fields. Many causes result in reduced soil health, but the main one seen in the San Joaquin
Restoring the San Joaquin Valley Read More »