As a child, I was considered something of an artistic prodigy.  I used to take classes at the Corcoran with college students who were twice my size (I was eight at the time).  And although I no longer paint and draw, I can still sew anything, learn how to make almost anything if given a chance. Read More »

Here’s a word cloud I created using the poems from my manuscript-in-progress, The Arranged Marriage .  Not much of a surprise to see which words appear most often:  mother, hands, knife, man, story.  And then there’s body and room.  Blue surprised me, as did small and pink. Read More »

For the past few months, I’ve been surprised and amused each time I see this ceramic mug on sale at Starbucks: Really, it’s the brown paper strip wrapped around the cup that makes me stop.  ”Write it. Read More »

Well, just in time for the first cold air of winter, I’ve discovered a new favorite beverage:  the matcha latte.  The drink only contains three ingredients.  Plain almond milk.  Matcha.  And honey. Read More »

The War in Iraq:  2003 – 2011. Read More »

As I love to tell my students during the final weeks of class, we have now reached the “nubbins of the semester.”  I like the metaphor of the semester as a pencil worn down to small stub barely big enough to hold between finger and thumb.   Or maybe the semester is an eraser so worn that it’s now only a bite-sized piece of pink rubber. Read More »

Most of the time, my little Chestertown manages to keep a pretty low profile.  It’s 45 minutes from Annapolis.  Nearly two hours from DC.  Beyond the tourists and the occasional Washington expats, the most frequent visitors to Chestertown tend to be the Canada geese on their way to points north or south, depending on the season. Read More »

Much like a well-polished course syllabus, the Dubrow family’s Thanksgiving menu has reached a delicate state of perfection in which small, yearly revisions are part of the fun but aren’t essential to the overall rewards of the experience. Read More »

I have many smart and talented friends.  And sometimes it’s nice to have the chance to be proud in a public manner, to do what my tribe calls kvelling. Read More »

When I was little, I thought that the world made November 11 a holiday because it was the day on which I was born.  In the United States, Veterans Day was another way of saying,  Happy Birthday, Jehanne .  And in Europe, Armistice Day was just a synonym for “Jehanne Gets Lots of Presents. Read More »

To all the Argos fans out there who have expressed worry over Sir Fuzzalot–thank you.  I feel a little less insane for being so upset about the wheaten’s health, having received so many concerned messages from my fellow pup lovers. Now on day three of his prescribed rest and his dosages of anti-inflammatory pills, Argos is beginning to improve. Read More »

Poor Argos. It was obvious something was wrong from the moment we woke up today; the Wheaten didn’t want to jump off the bed and, a little while later, he didn’t want to hop back on again.  He didn’t want to rise from the floor or do his yogic stretches or give his usual nose-to-tail shake.  This is unlike him. Read More »

Public Service Announcement:  This blog post has been written at the request of my father…..So, last Saturday I bought myself a birthday present, three weeks early.  I’ve often felt birthdays require a whole week (sometimes even a whole month) to properly sink in, and I have a habit of purchasing my own presents days, weeks, months in advance. Read More »

As I’ve written before, most military families quickly learn that post-deployment can be more difficult and stressful than is deployment itself.  What happens when physical distance is erased but emotional distance remains?  That’s a question I often ask audiences when I’m reading from Stateside . Read More »

Am I repeating myself when I say that the days continue to blur together, that I’m the chicken with its head cut off, running and running around the coop, that I’m not sure what year we’re in, what month, what week, what day?!  Okay, I do know that Read More »

We’re nearly at the midpoint of the semester, but it feels like I’ve been running on the hamster wheel for years and years.  Recent and upcoming readings:  York College of PA, Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, University of West Georgia, US Naval Academy, Howard Community College, and the College of Southern Maryland. Read More »

There are those long lags of quiet when it seems like good news will never return from the Land of Poetry.  Then, all at once, the inbox is full of emails saying, yes, yes please!   And the emails are saying yes  to your poems. Read More »

After my recent–oh so traumatic–brush with a negative review, I was really grateful to see David Abrams’ response to Stateside  on his blog, The Quivering Pen.  I was especially glad to read this new response to the text because Abrams is retired U.S. military and can speak with authority about how very difficult military marriages can often be. Read More »

Is it winter break yet?  We’re nearing the end of week #3 of the semester, and everyone already resembles The Walking Dead.  I blame it oe the double-wammy of two natural mini-disasters occurring in the space of one week.  Earthquake + Irene = no beginning-of-the-schoolyear pep-in-the-step. Read More »

What happened?  You ask.  Sadly, my answer is:  Jehanne’s First Root Canal.  Hooray! Throughout the hurricane, I felt twinges in one of my back teeth.  Cold, sweet, pressure–all of it made me wince.  Uh oh, I thought.  Only seven weeks ago, this tooth’s old filling was drilled and replaced. Read More »