michaeljarmer

Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: A Room Of One’s Own With A View

I offer up a rumination about rooms, on this 5th day of Writer’s Camp for Wallies. In the best of all possible worlds, if one is a writer, one needs a room of one’s own, but it would also be fine if it provided a view, a good view, of something either internally interesting or externally,Continue reading “Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: A Room Of One’s Own With A View”

Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: Tropical Flesh Mandala

I slept for seven hours cuddled up with my tiny electric fan–literally. I thought maybe I’d roll over in the middle of the night and knock it off the mattress, or, worse, dreaming that I was snuggling with this machine, I might wake up with my hair caught in the fan blades. No, it was safeContinue reading “Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: Tropical Flesh Mandala”

Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: That Whole Sleeping Thing

It may just be, for now, that I’m in the wrong zone. On the first night, I was exhausted when I arrived finally in South Hadley from clear across the country there in Portland, Oregon, but I was too excited to go to bed early; I slept fine, but I just didn’t sleep enough. OnContinue reading “Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: That Whole Sleeping Thing”

Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: Organized Chaos

Well, to begin with, a Wally boy who shall go nameless (after doing an absolute killer reading from his new novel) came down to the porch at about 10 o’clock last night wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, and for the rest of the conference, I predict we will be asking him over andContinue reading “Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: Organized Chaos”

Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: Reading What’s Not On The Page

I arrived at Mt. Holyoke College last night right in the middle of dinner after a long day of traveling. I woke up at 3:30 in the morning in order to get to the Portland airport by 5 to catch a plan by 6 to arrive in Chicago to hang out for a coupleContinue reading “Dispatches From Writer’s Camp: Reading What’s Not On The Page”

#139: Writer’s Camp

I’m going to camp. I’ll be alone most of the time but at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and at least once every evening, I will be surrounded by friends, writer friends, people who know me and who share the dream and the drive or the dream of the drive or the drive of the dreamContinue reading “#139: Writer’s Camp”

#138: A New Stupid Smart Phone

1. Stupid, perhaps. But I bought a new iPhone today because my wallet case broke, you know the one, the wallet case I bought two years ago to hold my i.d., some cash, and a 3G phone I bought for $50 that was already two years out of date. The old phone was fine, still,Continue reading “#138: A New Stupid Smart Phone”

#137: Blog Spam

I often get comments on my blog posts that read almost and sometimes exactly like this: “I am genuinely delighted to glance at this bloig postѕ which consists of lots of valuable information, thanks for providing these kinds of data,” apropos of absolutely nothing. I’m puzzled. Is this the deliberate work of a real person, a realContinue reading “#137: Blog Spam”

#136: Again, The Last Teacher Out The Door

Every year, this is what it’s like. I can’t get my grades in on time because instead of a multiple- guess scantron test I ask my students to make things or write things, things which I must then look at and think about; and there’s never enough time to look and think properly, so IContinue reading “#136: Again, The Last Teacher Out The Door”

#135: The Eight Year Old Uses Tweezers To Pull A Sliver Out of His Daddy’s Hand

This happened yesterday, for real, and it was one of those events in parenting, perfectly mundane, nearly inconsequential, that nevertheless felt poignant in that moment, and today even more powerful as parents in my state again lose their children to guns. It breaks my heart. Love your kids. The Eight Year Old Uses Tweezers ToContinue reading “#135: The Eight Year Old Uses Tweezers To Pull A Sliver Out of His Daddy’s Hand”