The Show Must Go On.

It has been several weeks since I posted a life update. Things have been very busy, and I’ve used the blog (lately) to post samples of my academic writing, my poetry, and a few short stories – but nothing personal about me, the “optimist.” (Perhaps I’m due for a rebranding…) Sometimes I wonder what the…

On Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I”

Sharing another close reading I prepared for my “Short Stories of Hemingway” class at Rollins College. ___________________________________________   “Nick was happy as he crawled inside the tent. He had not been unhappy all day. This was different though. Now things were done. There had been this to do. Now it was done. It had been…

Manifesto

I want to be me. Not what anyone assumes of me. I’m a sexual person. I won’t be ashamed of it. I want to have sex. Lots of it. I want to read my books without being called a nerd. I want to write my fucking poetry without someone cranking up some shitty movie to…

Letter to a Friend

Every day the world tells me that I am not good enough. Every day, hundreds of times per day (hundreds of thousands), the world tells me that I am not right. I am not beautiful enough. I am not smart enough. I am not worldly enough. I am not cultured, I am not experienced, I…

Clean Your Mess

It would be simpler, a sharpened blade trailed down slender wrist. Easier than this treacherous game called life. There would be no desire, hope, pain, want, failure. Only absolution, quiet. It would be simpler a handful of pills, some pink, some blue, maybe yellow, just for fun. Eyelids heavy, promised rest, a final resolution that…

Watch Me

Vitriol. Drip, drip, drip. Rolling down in rivers, flood. I bathe in pools of poison. Watch me. Trivial. Skip, skip, skip. Rolling off my shoulders, thud. I dance in puddles of blame. Watch me. Minimal. Rip, rip, rip. Rolling, off my tongue, cud. I dine in ponds of apathy. Watch me. _______________________________ Thanks for reading!…

On Hemingway’s “The Cat in the Rain”

I am currently taking a course in my MLS program focused on the short stories of Ernest Hemingway. While much is known about his novels (For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Moveable Feast, etc), most people are not as familiar with the incredible focus and dedication Hemingway extended toward the craft of word economy. I’m…