There is a new kid on Amazon’s block called Kindle Vella. I joined in early in the experimental stage and, so far, I can’t say that it has been the most rewarding experience, but I can’t say that it has been a total flop either. We’re still getting to know […]
Chorus
A poem a day might well keep despair away. I’ve been reading 150 Most Famous Poems published by Poetry House with works by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and many more. What I find so extraordinary is that while reading, I enter a sort of dreamland, […]
Learning the Craft: Style II
Should I say things in a positive way? Suppose you want the reader to know how dark a room is. You set your scene. A teenager walks into a room and you write, “There was no light in the room.” The first thing the reader will see is the light […]
A Great Equalizer
Outside the sun shines on still-green grass while glistening spider webs rock in a gentle breeze. Dead, prickly flower heads bob on brown stems while clusters of rust-colored oak leaves rattle against the bare branches of neighboring trees. Even the indoor plants oppose each other in stark contrast. My green […]
When Picking up Your Pen Is Picking up Your Cross
By Janice Lane Palko How do you regard your writing career? Perhaps you’re like me. I’ve been putting words on paper for more than 20 years, and I’ve always regarded my propensity to write as a being a blessing and as a calling of sorts. I wrote last month how […]
Pick up the Orange
By Janice Lane Palko Some people receive profound promptings from the Holy Spirit. Me? I get messages like “pick up the orange.” A few weeks ago, I walked into my local grocery store and saw a woman select some oranges and put them in a plastic bag. As she walked […]
The End of It All
In November our Church calls us to remember the remarkable of the Church both recognized (All Saints) and those unrecognized (All Souls). We set up memorial tables, reverence the book of the dead and attend memorial Masses. All the while taking comfort in the idea that we are doing […]
The Twelve Steps to being a Spiritual Writer
Step Five- Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Over the past few weeks, we have examined our failings and sins. The purpose has not been to feel badly about ourselves. It is to examine the habits, fears, and patterns that […]
Humility: Jesus, Grant Me The Grace To Desire It
Some years ago, at my morning prayer group, my cherished friend Deacon Larry brought copies of the Litany of Humility. I never had heard of that prayer until that day. The men in my group trust Larry implicitly, so we dove right into reciting the prayer. We read the first line […]
Americanah, by Chimamamda Ngozi Adichie
Americanah is a tale of two countries, Nigeria and the USA. The protagonist, Ifemelu invites the reader to sit with her at a braiding salon in Newark, New Jersey as she prepares to return to Nigeria after ten years in the USA. She chats candidly with the stylists and other […]