The Pilgrimage of Just Peace in the Poetry of William Stafford

On 29 October 2015, I was invited to give a talk at the Bethany Theological Seminary Presidential Forum on the theme of pilgrimage. I decided to take the opportunity to discuss Stafford again, but in a way that isn't always thought about. Here are my remarks: William Stafford, twentieth century American poet, was a conscientious …

Thinking about Rilke

When I graduated college, a professor gave me a copy of Letters to a Young Poet and I've been reading through it lately. Here's a thought from my journal dated February 4, 2018: Rilke says in his first letter to go deep within and find what bids you to be a writer. For me, the …

Write three lines in a notebook everyday.

In 2011, I heard the poet Naomi Shihab Nye speak at Earlham College. She said two things I still remember: everyone needs to read Every War has Two Losers, a collection of William Stafford’s writings on peace (including excerpts from his daily writing), and to write three lines in a notebook everyday. Here’s a video …