Tag: Oregon
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what I would have said at the OBA ceremony
As preparation for the Oregon Book Awards ceremony, finalists are asked to prepare a few words, under two minutes, to say just in case. I gave my words a lot of thought and, though I did not win, I feel like sharing these words with you here below. * OBA (non)acceptance speech I first moved…
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the road to a holiday video poem
The Light Between Us – José Angel Araguz Before learning to read, words are darkness. What’s there feels unseeable; paper and ink, sure, but nothing you feel a part of. The world around us feels like this at times, like darkness. A harsh word, violence, pain— we can’t read these things easily, must wait for the…
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recap of my recent Linfield College reading!
* Just a quick note to share this thoughtful recap of my recent poetry reading at Linfield College up at Medium! I read on September 11th as part of the Readings at the Nick series held at Linfield’s Nicholson Library. Here’s “Alabanza” by Martín Espada, the poem I read to start things off. Thank you…
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new essay at Medium!
Just a quick post to share that my short essay, “The Speaking Up Mantra,” was recently published at Medium! Read it here. This essay came about as part of a series of activities Linfield College put together to welcome new students to campus and help them as they transition into college culture. I was asked…
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meditation: william stafford
This time last year found me writing about meditation in a blog post for the Cincinnati Review, about its place in both the writing and personal life. It’s one of those concepts and practices that gets lost under human error and flash, much like good poems often get lost in the error and flash of…
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noticing with katha pollitt
I’m always surprised when a poem turns around and offers me something that opens up a whole other personal meditation. In this week’s poem “What I Understood” by Katha Pollitt, the moment happens in two lines before the end: people are saved every day by a sparrow, a foghorn, a grassblade, a tablecloth. These two…
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watching with joe wilkins
One of the things poetry is able to do is help reflect the minor shifts in life after something major happens. After the election this past November, for example, I joined many others in shifting the things we paid attention to. Whether it was checking the news more regularly or vetting clear, accurate news sources,…
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new doors via richard tillinghast
A few big changes have happened in my life that I am barely catching up on enough to relate here. The first is that I have happily accepted an Assistant Professor position at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. I am really excited to be joining a stellar faculty at an institution known for cultivating a…
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* travel update & some life sketches
Hello y’all! Since I am moving this week back to Oregon and am on the road as I write this, I decided I would forgo the usual Friday Influence post and share some life sketches. I will resume the usual astrologically-centered good times next week. Enjoy! *** walking in Flagstaff the folds of her…
The Friday Influence 