What I remember most is the giant hill covered in black ice and trying to climb it, wearing Doc Martens, supporting myself by grabbing onto side windows of cars on my way up to the liquor store. It was New Year’s Eve in Alaska—going into 1997 and I was at a party. I came with… Continue reading Born to Lose
Misspent Youth
I’ve been playing pool off and on (more off these days), since 1992… and played at every single pool hall in my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. And I still can’t play for shit. I was introduced to the world of pool at age 18, by two brothers, Pete and Dan Backus. Pete was a… Continue reading Misspent Youth
Memoir Prompts: Ten Years, Consolidated
This is from my old writing teacher, Ellen Hagan. Take a decade of your life and for every year, write 3 items that defined that year—in 3 words each. Here’s an example for the year 2013, when I was 40. Adjunct of English/Applied at Staples/No Going Forward Making the items compact will help you focus… Continue reading Memoir Prompts: Ten Years, Consolidated
On Discipline (Or, My Summer of the Greeks)
WEEK ONE I got crazy idea a few weeks ago. I decided to spend my summer reading the Greeks. I enjoy loafing on the couch watching Law and Order reruns as much as the next guy, but after 3 weeks of that, I knew I’d get burned out. I knew it was a good idea… Continue reading On Discipline (Or, My Summer of the Greeks)
On Creative Distraction
I’ve always wanted to be a writer since as far back as I can remember. I made up theme songs for my stuffed animals at age 5, so there you go. I’ve wanted to be other things too, at various times in my life. A computer programmer. A rock star. A wandering vagabond (I realized… Continue reading On Creative Distraction
On Failure
Between 1991-92 when I was in my first year of college, and 2002 when I settled down in Austin, I wrote a grand total of roughly 10 poems, 5 short stories, and notebook after notebook of abandoned ideas. We won’t count my journalism work, the thing I was actually competent at. I wasn’t going to… Continue reading On Failure
On Journaling
Like many of you, I keep a journal. And like many of you, I'm sure, I am really bad at it. I never sat down and thought about why until very recently, and I came to a few conclusions. I GET SELF-CONSCIOUS I often have trouble journaling because the writing feels way too personal. I… Continue reading On Journaling
