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Summer Grief

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Recipes and Why Vegan? By Leave a Comment

My summer memories include June bugsfirefliescicadasbutterfliesbats—all in abundance. I remember visiting the beachfinding sand dollars, picking them up, taking them home.By my teen years, I learned they were alive!I urged others to please — please — help them back into the water. Now, it’s been years since these memories and since I’ve seen one.Where have all the sand dollars gone?On the endangered species list. The summer I turned 18, the radio played ... Read more ...

Bear Ways: A Commitment Statement in Poem Form

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice, Recipes and Why Vegan? By Leave a Comment

Earlier in June, after months of intense revision, I finally updated my commitment statement. It was a long time coming, as I returned to southern Appalachia and newly to Asheville—Cherokee Land in Western North Carolina (WNC)—back in 2024, ten weeks before Hurricane Helene hit. My writing has been coming slower since the move partly because of recovery and healing from the storm. Partly because of the time involved in putting down roots, building community, and ... Read more ...

Weathering Storms with Words and Images: From the Holler to the Sea (An Anthology)

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice By 1 Comment

Having just weathered a winter storm—and knowing that we all are weathering storms within the cruel conditions of ICE and ice, of empire and climate crises—I want to share a local publication from the fall, from the one-year anniversary of Helene, a storm that shapes my understanding of storms to come. From the Holler to the Sea I am grateful to Rednecks Rising and Dandelion Scribes and editors Cheyanne Leonardo and Chelsea White-Hoglen for assembling the ... Read more ...

Meaningful Writing Doesn’t Always Make Its Way into Writing Portfolios

Filed Under: Everyday Feminism, Higher Education By Leave a Comment

I recently created a new writing portfolio, which I am excited to share! Because my SelectedWorks page was sunsetted this summer, I needed a new way to share publications. The portfolio highlights some, while linking to a fuller list (what I’d share as part of an academic CV). I start with academic publications and then share pieces from public and community writing. And I include a final section of meaningful writing that doesn’t always (or even often) make its way ... Read more ...

Reflections on Helene: Sharing a Poem “In Gratitude” from Dandelion Scribes

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I am so grateful to have a poem included in the collection “From the Holler to the Sea: Hurricane Helene Survivors Speak Out”—a collaboration of the Appalachian poetry space Dandelion Scribes and local organizing collective Rednecks Rising.  Through reading the collection, I am really appreciating the opportunity to reflect on experiences with and changed lives from Hurricane Helene. The framing around “solidarity amidst ongoing global polycrisis” serves as another ... Read more ...

Love Notes from Journal Pages

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Leave a Comment

So much of my writing over the past year has been personal journaling. I have pages of scrawled notes and lots of therapeutic reflections. It’s the sort of writing that rarely sees the light of day. It’s also the writing in which insights pop up and out of the mess. Recently, I’ve been re-reading my journal pages and noticing how often I write love notes to myself, underlining what I want and need to hear. It’s occurred to me that these notes offer messages that many ... Read more ...

Reflective Poetry Prompts from Writing Retreats: A Contemplative Writing Practice

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This post shares a few reflective poetry prompts (along with my poetic answers) from recent one-day writing retreats. For context, I’ve been facilitating one-day, online writing retreats for a few years now. I love the retreat space not only for supportive writing community and dedicated writing time, but especially for reflection. Throughout the day, reflection happens through guided meditation, freewriting prompts, and group conversation. To close each retreat, I offer ... Read more ...