William Stafford once said that a poem was a serious joke, “a truth that has learned jujitsu.” And that when you’re stuck, you should lower your standards and keep going. And that he would trade all his poems for the next one. And that writing is a reckless encounter with whatever comes along. And that […]

In my world, jogging and blogging are similar. I don’t like the words. I don’t like the lingo. I don’t like watching people do it, or hear people talk about doing it. I also started doing both of them last year.

Both activities have always been things that I felt like I SHOULD do, things […]

I appreciate the blank canvas literally and figuratively. I put a canvas on an easel last month and spent a lot more time staring at it than I did putting paint on it. It does seem to stare, so bright, so full of potential, so easy to screw up. I have stared at many pieces […]

Stranger Than Fiction might be my favorite movie. It is so existentially satisfying to me. It’s funny, it’s profound, it’s inspiring. It contains jokes about dramatic irony and third person omniscient and lines like “I may already be dead, just not typed.” It’s about story and what makes a good one, and raises the question […]

Coffee, school, church, beer, library, George Saunders. Had a tough day at school. Very disheartening in deep and profound ways. Drove by my church to see if my friend was there. Decided against coffee, having had enough today. Decided against beer, it being a little too early for that. Ended up in the library. I […]

The news is unfortunate these days. This has always been a matter of degrees. Years ago, I was searching for a copy of the paper in the recycling bin next to the trash can at a coffee shop. “If you’re looking for something good, you’re not going to find it in there,” was an old […]

I like people that tell the truth. I appreciate talented communicators: artists, poets, writers, storytellers, comedians, teachers, journalists, film makers. Sometimes pastors, sometimes politicians. I think it’s fascinating that pastors and politicians are in a different category. It makes sense. We expect a lot from someone who is speaking for God or in theoretical charge […]

I appreciate failure, rejection, and misfires. It’s easy to ignore truths, even truths we know, truths we could describe impressively in our preferential testing environment. Essay, oral presentation, multiple choice, short answer, or even true or false. Is failure good, necessary, and part of the process of most things? Yes. And yes because of these […]

I’ve never sent a Tweet or an emoji. Sometimes I use an exclamation point, but I feel a little uneasy about it the day after I did it.  I used to tell people that I only used six a year. I’ve relaxed my standards some.

A student came up to me the other day and […]

It makes me proud. I don’t know how much credit I can take, but I do encourage it. Yesterday, we headed out on a bike ride. Halfway across town, halfway to grandma’s, Nik stops and says, “You know what story I am always going to tell about this bike ride?”

I want to pause and […]