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Open Space
A colleague, now several years retired, recently cleared out the office he had occupied for more than twenty years. It’s lighter now, without the file cabinets, the bookcases lined up two deep against the walls. Just a couple of old computers, an older desk, a fan. I miss seeing him day to day on campus–we…
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Spotlight on Intralingo (& other summer inspirations)
Translator Lisa Carter has been running a series of Translator Spotlights on her blog, Intralingo. Today, I’m the lucky guest. I hope you’ll visit (http://intralingo.com/?p=2938)–and have a look at some of the other translators who’ve been spotlighted as well! I’ve benefitted from Lisa’s collegiality and goodwill off line, too, so I’ll take this opportunity to…
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Lily Pad
For eight years now, we’ve been taking the same hike on my birthday. Some years we’ve pushed the calendar a little, but most years, it’s been on the day itself. And it doesn’t get old–not for me, anyway. Much as I love to take new hikes, this one, I could do over and over. As…
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Reading in the Summer Workshop
I was invited to read from Detours at the IPRC on Wednesday night, with other Burnside Review writers, celebrating the publication of Burnside Review 9.1. Great audience, great hosts–thank you, all! Nothing like an appreciative crowd and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. And I came home ready to make stuff. Make books. For those who’ve never been there, the…
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Crossing Borders on Stage on Film
Not, “on stage and film” or “in stage and film”–on the filmed stage, on stage, on film; a recorded performance. A kind of translation in space and across media. This spring, Boom Arts (in Portland) and On the Boards TV are collaborating on a series of community screenings of Amarillo, a theater piece performed by…
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Fictional Falls
Stories happen, or they’re found, or they’re built. Harvested, gathered, collected, constructed. Sometimes there’s an alchemy of memory and conversation. I wrote about waterfall words–in English and Spanish–in one of my earlier blog post, Iguazú Words. I was preparing for a trip to Argentina, thinking like a tourist (what are my must-sees?) and a…
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Detour 40
40 Three or four drops per minute, the gutter assigns a steep crescendo to the slow, picking wind. Birds give way toward midnight, daybreak, dusk, a gathered loop indistinguishable from a low cloud, a harbinger, a loom–sand-drawn footsteps knotted in something that might resemble a pattern to the right eyes. Above all, cold, and the…
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Reading Trafalgar (Small Beer Press Podcast 17)
Readers of this blog know I love reading aloud. So I jumped at the chance to read for Small Beer Press‘s podcast series. More than jumped–I asked for the chance. One of those self-invitations. Then I hesitated at the suggested story. Yes, the story’s in English now, but some of the words are still hard.…