Category: Uncategorized
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[Poetry] Snap, Thud
![[Poetry] Snap, Thud](https://michelemakesstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/trees-and-sky.jpg)
Go to page: [Poetry] Snap, ThudOther than you, Mother, what I miss most is the water. Nothing here is as cold as the Atlantic, no smell as sharp or sudden as the sea turn, no sound as sharp as the gulls’ screams, no wind that slices bone-deep and leaves you raw and quivering. Though of course, there is wind –…
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[Poetry] Ethiopia, 1984
![[Poetry] Ethiopia, 1984](https://michelemakesstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/green-apples.jpg)
Go to page: [Poetry] Ethiopia, 1984I stretch and yawn, Chest swells, Tongue tests the biting edge. My belly growls. Skin ripples and flows over curves like water that wears the rock to egg-smoothness. I am continuous. Light bounds off my eyes as off polished green apples. I am fit and sound. My mind is a muscle, limber, Having the strength…
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Memory and Zorba
Go to page: Memory and ZorbaWhen I was a child, my mother and grandfather took me to see Anthony Quinn play Zorba the Greek in a live musical production. Or, when I was in my early twenties, my mother and grandfather took me to see Anthony Quinn play Zorba the Greek in a live musical production. The first experience is…
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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
Go to page: A Swim in a Pond in the RainI recently took advantage of Gotham Writer’s annual Open House, and signed up for a session on fiction writing with author Susan Breen. It was excellent, but it’s not actually what I want to talk about today. During the course of the session, somebody asked about short fiction, and Breen recommended a book by George…
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I should not feel inclined to begin my work
Go to page: I should not feel inclined to begin my workI’ve been here. I know this is Proust’s protagonist speaking, and not the author himself, but it’s hard to imagine that Proust never experienced what I suspect is a universal pattern: No need to write tonight because I’m going to write all day tomorrow. Well, that didn’t go well. I probably need some time to…
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Artwork [Celtic knotwork]
![Artwork [Celtic knotwork]](https://michelemakesstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/knotwork1-3087408999-1653443865143.jpg)
Go to page: Artwork [Celtic knotwork]Slightly crooked photo of a piece I did in 2019. Will definitely frame it this year (she says confidently). Technical pen and marker on white paper. Taking pictures of what I’m drawing, particularly while in progress, is a trick I learned at a workshop many years ago. The camera picks up all kinds of issues…
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Friends and Writers
Go to page: Friends and WritersI am mortified to realize that I have not made a post yet about my friends who write books! Sure, I only have a handful of followers now, and these wonderful writers are probably them, but someday when we’re all well-established and widely read somebody will find this old post and think, “Oh, hey, they…
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The “Just Keep Writing” Post
Go to page: The “Just Keep Writing” PostWith a bonus reference to Camus A while back I read The First Man, the unfinished manuscript by Albert Camus. I believe I have read almost everything by Camus at this point, and some books more than once. There are still one, or maybe two, I haven’t gotten to, but will soon. This isn’t a…
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More Language Transfer
Go to page: More Language TransferI can’t say enough good things about Language Transfer. It’s a remarkable system, and the teacher’s knowledge of the etymology of words is inspiring. I love the way he’s able to create cues for not just remembering what a Spanish word means, but for starting with the English word and figuring out what a Spanish…
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Language Transfer
Go to page: Language TransferI’ve been pretending to learn Spanish for many years now. I’ve done apps, like Duolingo, done Rosetta Stone, I drill regularly on the SpanishDict site, as well as reading their discussions and r/Spanish on Reddit. I’ve read Fluent Forever and taken several aspects of the method into my practice, and done a couple of Spanish…