Poetry Reading, March 30 in Richmond, Indiana

Come hear poetry and stories from Jennie Kiffmeyer, Travis Poling, and Susan Yanos at 1:30pm on Saturday March 30, 2019 at Two Sisters Books & More in Richmond, Indiana

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…

I’m 40 Today

I'm 40 today. Not exactly sure what that means. There's no great clarity after four decades except that I’ve gotta keep doing this writing thing.

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…