Author Archives: Jeff

It takes guts to be in Taiwan Parliment

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Jeff

Protests against allowing US pork imports into Taiwan lead to Taiwan lawmakers throw pig guts and punches. I especially like the woman center screen with hand full of intestines standing her ground. The story lead me to check whether my … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Justice | Leave a comment

Sign of the Times

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Jeff

I read too much news, trying to get some sense of the way the world is going. People get stupid when they grasp for certainties. Michael Ventura Reading Failed Haiku, a monthly on-line publication, is probably a better way to … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Social Justice, Spirtual Practice, Teaching Stories, Writing | Leave a comment

A Conversation at the Gates of Hell

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Jeff

My recently published poem, “Conversation at the Gates of Hell,” is about a metaphorical conversation across the political/social/generational divide. “The odd friends: The young liberal and the elderly conservative” is wonderful story of an ongoing actual conversation across those divides. … Continue reading →

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“Conversation at the Gates of Hell” published

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Jeff

Laurence Musgrove’s latest project, Texas Poetry Ballot, published my poem, Conversation at the Gates of Hell yesterday. He attracts a lot of very fine poets, English professors, and several Texas Poet Laureates, present and past. It’s somewhat intimidating company. This … Continue reading →

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“State of the Union” published

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Jeff

A favorite Texas poet, Laurence Musgrove, has a new project, Texas Poetry Ballot, on the upcoming election. He’s accepted two poems of mine. The first was published today. Read State of the Union on his Website, then read the rest … Continue reading →

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Improvisation

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Jeff

I’ve been playing guitar off and on since the 70s. I’ve learned enough to play electric blues and blues/rock at the amateur intermediate level, but I’ve had no success improvising beyond mixing various rhythm guitar riffs. Recently I’ve realized I … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Writing | Leave a comment

Lifesaving Poems

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Jeff

As Anthony Wilson tells in The most popular lifesaving poems, he pivoted his blog several years ago to the afore mentioned topic. Mary Oliver’s The Journey tops the list. They all are worth reading. Naomi Shihab Nye’s The Art of … Continue reading →

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Author Mission Statement

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Jeff

How (And Why) to Create an Author Mission Statement is a guest column on the Writer Unboxed blog. It’s a five step process to getting clear about the goal of your writing: What you write (e.g., poems, essays, novels)? Who … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Writing | 1 Comment

Links to YouTube

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Jeff

Some but not all of my links to YouTube are being forbidden. I’ve tried logging out and trying again. Those are also forbidden. I have not found a way around this. I’ve unlinked all affected links. Hopefully, if you want … Continue reading →

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COVID-19: Lament and Anger

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Jeff

Up until recently, the only serious COVID-19 cases I knew of were friends’ relatives I had never met. That changed about a week ago. Last year a good friend, in fact our emergency contact here in Austin, took a bad … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19 | 1 Comment