Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave (2012) and Poet Warrior (2021) After my uncomfortable experience reading Autobiography of a Yogi, it was a relief to dive into poet Joy Harjo's memoirs and encounter a completely different kind of spiritual teacher, an older-sister guide who can instruct me about the path I also want to follow: Poet, Warrior, … Continue reading Spiritual Memoir Review: Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior
Recently I had two poems published in the online journal Kosmeo, which is subtitled "Adorning the profession of the gospel through creative offerings." One of the poems, "What the Rich Young Man Said," was published in an earlier version on my blog here -- but I've revised is since then, because I keep thinking about … Continue reading Advent/Lent: A Poem
Literature February is a short month, but I got a lot of reading done, thanks partly to a bout of sickness that confined me to the house for a few days. Highlights included finishing David Copperfield and comparing it to Demon Copperhead; the ongoing #LoveHain readalong hosted by Calmgrove; discovering the beautiful, harrowing memoirs of … Continue reading Month in Review: February 2023
I did NOT love having to shop for a new e-reader when mine suddenly conked out, but I am loving the used-but-like-new Kobo Libra H2O that I found on an online auction site. It's a step up from my old Aura, as it's a bit bigger, has page turn buttons, and works in both landscape … Continue reading Share Four Somethings: February 2023
This is a re-post of my review originally published at Shiny New Books. And if you'd like to go on to read about the next in the series, over at SNB you can read my latest review of the Folio Society edition of The Farthest Shore, which posted today. In our upside-down world of reversed … Continue reading Beautiful Books: The Tombs of Atuan
Last year, I embarked on a journey of trying to solve some longstanding health issues, which I shared with you in these posts. This year, although those questions are not all worked through, I felt strong enough to start another kind of venture, a training in Spiritual Direction that is offered online by the Sisters … Continue reading A New Journey: My spiritual direction training, Part I
Paramhansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) When I embarked on my Spiritual Memoir Challenge this year, I did not expect the first book I chose to read for it to be so ... challenging. It raised a lot of questions for me, and I'm not sure how to express them. I don't want to … Continue reading Spiritual Memoir Review: Autobiography of a Yogi
Literature A new year begins! I devoted a number of posts to reviewing my reading from last year, which was interesting for me, at least. Check them out here: My Life in Books My Year in Nonfiction My Year in Fiction Around the World Update Along with general plans for 2023, I announced a new … Continue reading Month in Review: January 2023
In the last few years, I started writing poetry again. I'd done it in fits and spurts since childhood, but was never really satisfied with my efforts. Then a personal crisis gave me a new impetus, inspiring me to produce one or even two or three poems a day, for several months. I found this … Continue reading A new writing (and publishing) impulse
This week I am featuring my Library of America edition of the Hanish novels and stories by Ursula K. LeGuin. These are LeGuin's major science fiction works, spanning the whole course of her long career, linked by the notion that different worlds were settled at some point by people from a planet named Hain. It's … Continue reading Shelf Control: The Hainish Novels and Stories
