Glorious Disorder
“Write your mind!” This exhortation originated with Allen Ginsberg and came to me via one of my favorite poets Frank X Gaspar (Late Rapturous, Night of a Thousand Blossoms). Gaspar speaks of his own need for encouragement, and his realization that Ginsberg was right –...
Celebrating Maya
It’s a day to celebrate, and to mourn. Maya died on April 6, 1992, twenty-six years ago. And on this day, my dear friend Patti Frame received my daughter’s liver, and her life began again. Others received the gift of sight, or a new heart, or a new kidney. And many...
Journal Writing and the Healing Process
I don't need research studies to prove the healing power of keeping a journal. My journal was my lifeline during the most difficult years of my life. On April 2, 1992 I got the call every mother dreads. My nineteen-year-old daughter Maya had fallen from a horse and...
Tastes of Montreal
I get to know a city with my taste buds. So the Fitz and Follwell tour “Flavors of Montreal” spoke to me. F & F also offers bicycle tours - they are a bicycle shop - but I wanted a slower pace and a chance to sample some classic Montreal foods. Our guide,...
Picnic in the Park
St. Viateur bagels are a Montreal institution. When Montreal was just a gleam in my eye and my plans still vague, a friend who grew up here was already telling me about "the best bagels in the world." Julia Scott told me I had to go to St. Viateur to sample the...
Mont Royal = Montreal
If you are anything like me (an uniformed American) you might not have realized that Montreal is actually named after a mountain, Mont Royal. Said mountain is in a beautiful park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (1822 - 1903), the same landscape architecture genius...
Are You a Writer?
Waiting for the muse to descend so you can write is, sadly, a tragic fallacy. “Writing is 99 percent perspiration, and one percent inspiration,” a wise person once said. Writing is work, and like any job, it requires commitment and sustained focus. I recently taught a...
Dealing with Noise that Drives you Crazy
I’m sitting in the balcony at Farley’s East Café at a “Shut Up and Write Meetup” attempting to block out the buzz. I could have stayed home. Here, though, I can’t dodge work by starting a load of laundry or suddenly deciding to vacuum. I’m fighting a largely hidden...
A Collection of Shells
"What's this, Mimi?" My granddaughter Francesca pointed at a glass vase of shells on my desk. "That's my shell collection," I said. Her blonde curls bounced as she nodded her head, "Oh," she said, "Can I play with them?" "If you're careful. Some are very fragile, they...
On Retreat
I joke that I’m a recovering Catholic, but really, Catholicism is not something you get over. From time to time, I find myself in a Catholic church, bathed in incense, surrounded by candles, flowers, and statues of the Virgin Mary. I spent many hours immersed in...
