We're still trying to adjust to an equinox that has passed with very little local attention. Fairbanks was frankly pagan in its appreciation of the equinoxes and solstices. And I miss that. Please indulge me with an experiment. I'm going... Continue reading

I'm really just getting used to using the blog space again, but I do need a bit of content. I'm open to suggestions... We're getting settled into new patterns and new community here in Champaign. Much warmer, of course, and... Continue reading

Ecopoetry is connection. It’s a way to engage the world by and through language. This poetry might be wary of language, but at its core believes that language is an evolved ability that comes from our bodies, that is close... Continue reading

I think I’ll stop for wine on the way home. Join me, won’t you? Continue reading

Is ecopoetry necessary? Hell yes! Continue reading

The mountains will still be there when we go back. And we'll probably learn even more about ourselves as a family. Continue reading

I agree that “What is at stake is the pleasure of living together on this planet that will survive us, whatever we do to it.” And we certainly need “trailblazers and stimulators” to insure that survival. But there’s a balance to be found, and the search for that balance is not served well by Bruckner. Continue reading

Change isn't magic. It's us. Continue reading

I've been filling my free time with the revival of a project I had thought long-abandoned. Continue reading

Hell, I missed National Poetry Month. Might as well start something with May. Bone Game night dice rattle in a deep up of valley lined like a ball park or cordwood bib straps and the cars stopped on the shoulders... Continue reading

I'll be in Chicago when this posts, but I'll be home soon and heading to the Bear Gallery for UAP's kickoff reading for the new Alaska Literary Series and Boreal Books titles. It's at 7pm, and it should be fabulous.... Continue reading

Head over to the Prairie Schooner blog. The Global Schooner App should go live today. And it's free. So go clicking already. The Spring issue cover Continue reading

The first week of April was the official rollout of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize 10th Anniversary Reader. The good people at the journal met with the good people of the University of Nebraska Press to have a lovely celebration.... Continue reading

Organizer tip: Read the proposal book and successful descriptions! Continue reading

Some great spaces for two great activities that go great together. Continue reading

Or something like that. So the albums are great, but would you read the book? Continue reading

Good luck at the windmills, Don. But you gotta love the drive of these bookstores willing to take on Amazon! Continue reading

Books, that is, looking both ways. My brother recently asked me what I was thinking about the future of books, and I keep revising my answer. As I write this, I'm having a hard time not hitting backspace (in part,... Continue reading

The delightful fun of bad design. Continue reading

Here’s the difficult part of the listening: Alaska is simply too large to contain. Continue reading

Working on the big issues in a book is just fun. Continue reading

I've been working on a clutch of new poems and thinking a lot about--wait for it--Alaska. One of the overwhelming problems in thinking about Alaska is the size and diversity of the place and people. Which Alaska are you writing... Continue reading

Getting ready to head out to AWP. Horrible flight time: 1:30 AM on Wednesday. I get to Chicago at 2:30 PM. It's a long haul to the Lower 48! I'll be hosting the UAP table (F18) and our new Alaska... Continue reading

This place is not a temperate zone, and when it’s forty-five below zero, you can’t just suck up your gut and brave the cold. No one can. You will die. Quickly. Brown bears and wolves live within walking distance, and you are a tasty and easy snack unless you’re prepared. Those are easy examples, but you can walk into a grocery store and tell immediately if the latest truck broke down on the way up. Or, for example, I couldn’t buy grapes today. Simply none were on the shelves. But how many times did I buy grapes in January wherever else I’ve lived and not given another thought to the supply chain? Continue reading

Teleology is our own, human, creation. Like money. Like justice, or fairness, or art. Any solution to global warming will rely in part on technology. But our technology won’t solve that problem. Continue reading