Intimacy, as Lopate wrote, is the hallmark of the personal essay. Such a generous analysis of my work from The Humble Essayist www.the-humble-essayist.com

Look at Maybelle advocating for transit!

This is crucial to our region .. and to actual hard working humans and many friends. Thanks to @repkimschrier.bsky.social

Yay!! A federal judge in California sided with a coalition of unions, temporarily barring the Office of Personnel Management from ordering federal agencies to terminate probationary workers, stating that the firings were ‘illegal, should be stopped, and rescinded.’

Writer friends, I hope you're getting your current manuscript polished and ready to send to Wandering Aengus and Trail to Table Press by 1/31. 10 days to submit literary #fiction, #nonfiction, and #poetry. The editors are reading subs and eagerly awaiting yours! duotrope.com/duosuma/subm...

Gopnik: “A crowd can become a mob;a crowd can even become an army. To turn a crowd into a community? Ah, that’s the hard work.” Go bluesky go.

Teaching this course 2 years ago was one of the most magical experiences of my life. Please join me and our amazing more-than-human kin in the San Juan Islands.

"Stories are holy and nutritious and crucial. Stories change lives; stories save lives.... They crack open hearts, they open minds." ~ Brian Doyle

Maybelle’s on her annual ferry commute from Stehekin to Wenatchee. She stays pretty close to the life jackets. Safety first!

I think the best thing we can do for the moment is get together and make a plan. One plan might be submitting a proposal for NonfictioNOW. Proposals are due November 15th. We'll all get together in June and celebrate writing and community. www.nonfictionow.org/new-page-1

Some jobs I’ve done besides what I do now: Independent author-editor-teacher Trail crew worker Park ranger Wildland firefighter Dispatcher Housekeeper Lifeguard Newspaper reporter Camp counselor Oldest daughter holding everything together (or trying)

Deactivated the Other. Looking for connection here. Onward. ❤️

Did you all know it costs $500 to place a 150 word obit in a local paper? And they don’t even say so straight up? Labyrinthine upsell websites for those mourning is no way to save local journalism.

Talked about my latest book PUSHED, xenophobia in the West, made-up massacres, and why writers should be audacious and humble always over at LitCit antiochlitcit.libsyn.com/antioch-litc...

Happy Earth Day! www.terrain.org/2024/nonfict...

This cannot be said often enough.

Next week in Salt Lake City!

Audre Lorde on poetry as the artform of working class consciousness: "Of all art forms, poetry is the most economical. It is the most secret, requires the least physical labor, the least material, and can be done between shifts, in the hospital pantry, on the subway, and on scraps of surplus paper."

The wall? Honest to god …

Yes yes yes!

Smoky weather (AQI 250 this morning down from 440 yesterday in #Stehekin) means more reading. This week's recommendations: CARRY by Toni Jensen, THE SENTENCE by Louise Erdrich, TALES of a DISTANCE poetry by Andrew. C Gottlieb.

I've just landed here in Blue Sky land, hoping for good connections in writing (creative nonfiction, esp.), the environment, social justice, music (always music), and yeah, cats. Here's Maybelle on the workbench, pondering her next project: