Homage to Literary Ancestor: Toni Morrison
Aug09

Homage to Literary Ancestor: Toni Morrison

“Tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear’s caul.” – Toni Morrison, American novelist, essayist, and teacher       Dear Creative Woman, Our town was a tiny landlocked one in Louisiana. Devoid of bookstores and gathering writers. As kids –  black,...

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A Life Force Quickened
Jul26

A Life Force Quickened

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.”  ― Martha Graham, American modern dancer and choreographer   “If you dance, dance. If you sing, sing. If you build, build. If you cook, cook. If you carve, carve. If you weave, weave. If you write, write. If you prophesy, prophesy.”...

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Makers and Carriers of Fresh Meaning
Jul12

Makers and Carriers of Fresh Meaning

“Bless the poets, the workers for justice, the dancers of ceremony, the singers of heartache, the visionaries, all makers and carriers of fresh meaning— We will all make it through, despite politics and wars, despite failures and misunderstandings. There is only love.”  ― Joy Harjo, U.S. Poet Laureate, Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems Our new U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, poet Barbara Buckman Strasko, singer of heartache...

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“Have your eyes ever been crossed or turned out?” by Barbara Buckman Strasko, “My DNA” by Judy Catterton, and “Glass Half” by Lachlan Brooks

  “Have your eyes ever been crossed or turned out?” by Barbara Buckman Strasko At the eye doctor I hesitate. Each day of my young life I wanted to say what the world looked like to me. And what they said was, Don’t think about that now, don’t see that way, don’t say ─ My great grandmother Rosa Vitoritto Greco remains inside of me   a voice that could not speak when she lived. She was left to mind the grocery...

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“Girl” by Marilyn Flower

This poem was originally published as “Daughter” in 2017 in Down in the Dirt Magazine, and will soon be republished in the blog “In a Woman’s Voice.” My background and culture is Jewish-American, third generation. I teach “Life and Literature” in an Emeritus program at a community college. My mama’s favorite was her son who died, the boy I was born to replace. She lay in her bedroom and...

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