Almost seven years ago today, I wrote a triolet about not being able to finish Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Here I am, in the same boat, so to speak, in 2020. A double poetic feature today: first, the triolet from 2013 (with some minor revisions), then today’s triolet. What’s a triolet, you ask? On Trying toContinue reading “#356: Another Triolet for Moby Dick”
Category Archives: Writing and Reading
A Journal of the Plague Year: #14
Today, was the third day “back to work” as a Distance Learning Public School English Teacher and the second day of National Poetry Month, April, 2020. My contact with students thus far, remotely, has been minimal. Our district has given us three days to prepare the rollout of some supplemental learning resources for our students,Continue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #14”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #13
Today is April 1 of the year of our pandemic, 2020, but it is also the first day of National Poetry Month, during which, over the past six years, I have celebrated by writing a poem every day for an entire month. This will be year seven in a poetry writing streak. To the bestContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #13”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #9
Just a few observations today in no particular order, or, rather, more accurately, in the order in which they occurred to me: War of the Worlds seems to be our binge-show of choice at the moment. There’s nothing like a great end-of-the-world story to get you through a pandemic. In related news: my son andContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #9”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #8
I think the resident teenager is depressed. He is not content to stay at home or to go without visitors. The company of his parents does not thrill him. They coax him to come out, are successful from time to time, in small doses finding him in good spirits, but more often than not, theyContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #8”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #7
It’s Monday, the first official day of Spring Break after a preliminary week-long break on account of the plague that is COVID-19. Last night I dreamt that our Governor, Kate Brown, downloaded the news about the coronavirus directly into my brain, announcing finally that she was ordering a “shelter-in-place” for all Oregonians. Her download cameContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #7”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #6
This morning (upon waking? in the shower? during meditation, while Sam Harris spoke to me about conscious awareness? over breakfast?), I found myself thinking Thoreau. Passages from Walden were emerging from the memory banks where favorite books are stored. It occurred to me that if one were to grab a classic from American Literature off the shelfContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #6”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #4
It’s only been four days, but I miss my students, I miss my student teacher, I miss my colleagues, and I miss that building, oddly enough, perhaps, the most constant and stable thing in my adult life, my school and my classroom like another home. Meanwhile, the sun shines, the dogs get another long walk.Continue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #4”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #3
Number of cases of coronavirus in Oregon: 75. Number of Oregon deaths from the virus: 3. Number of student contact days lost thus far: 3. Number of student contact days expected to be lost, as of this moment: 27. Number of educational hours potentially lost: approximately 175. Number of plans in place (or announced) for remote schooling: 0. NumberContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #3”
A Journal of the Plague Year: #2
Good news and bad news. Here’s the good news, in no particular order: the dogs got a walk two days in a row. I rode my bike two days in a row. I fixed the kitchen sink all by myself. It’s another beautiful day, weather-wise. Feels almost like BBQ season. The government is thinking aboutContinue reading “A Journal of the Plague Year: #2”
michael jarmer 