During school-visit interactive readings of May I Have a Word? I ask students to act out the character of the letter K, who is jealous and frustrated with the letter C for taking all the “good words.” I feed them their lines and encourage them to muster up as much melodrama as possible. “I don’t want to talk about it,” they quote and then let out a collective and wonderfully pitiful sigh. “In fact, I— don’t—want—to—talk—at—all!” I narrate the next line, “K fell silent.” The s

When it feels as though the sky is falling, and I know my two hands are not enough to catch, lift, hold the whole thing up, I am tempted to throw my hands up in the air—so sometimes I read this poem and ask myself, well, what little bird can I lift today? If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. -Emily Dickinson And one day, a

“Whether or not you find your own way, you're bound to find some way. If you happen to find my way, please return it, as it was lost years ago. I imagine by now it's quite rusty.” ― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth When MFA students visit my advisor office hours at The New School, it’s often to ask for advice on a decision such as whether or not they should take this or that publishing internship, quit the full time job that has nothing to do with writing but pays the bil

Got to get back on the horse... Said that to myself last week when I went on a writing-reboot retreat and again as I contemplated creating this blog after a long hiatus. I'd heard that phrase long before I ever got on a horse and I when I first fell of an actual horse (kindly named Mr. Rogers) I remember thinking, oh, I get that thing people say now! But a couple summers ago, I got a much better idea about what it really means. I had the incredible fortune of getting to spend

Last night Charles Santoso and I were speaking (thank you internet.) There was a fresh layer of frost on the ground here in Brooklyn and my apartment was playing hostess to the wind-chill factor. As beautiful as it had been to watch the snowflakes swirl down all day, I admit I was a touch jealous when Charles said it was quite sunny there in Sidney, Australia. We talked for a long time, and Charles kindly asked me at some point if I needed to get to bed (we are 16 hours apart

Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to and speak with Jane Paley, PsyD about her ideas for parents whose children may be struggling in school, so I thought I’d share some of the tips and thoughts she offered. I hope it may be useful to you or another parent you may know! (Please note that these take-aways come from my conversation with Jane, but are filtered and at times re-worded through Caron, here.) Use W's to Gather Information: “I have yet to meet a 'lazy' kid…the