Author Archives: mabujones

When we write, we create main characters. They are the lens through which we experience the story, the sensibility that readers identify with. In traditional terms, this character is the protagonist. In even more traditional terms, they are the hero, … Continue reading →

In this season of starlight, in this year of isolation, a great deal has been asked of us. We have managed and survived by finding our stamina, being inventive, determined, introspective, and outreaching. I have unwrapped, unpolished, unassuming gifts for … Continue reading →

In this pandemic we are gripped by the vast and the invisible and the chaotic. We feel the largeness that makes us feel small, our days confined to repetitions. What does this kind of existence do to our writing life? … Continue reading →

In 1978, Carolyn Forché published her poem “The Colonel.” Debates ensued about whether this piece of writing is truly a poem or whether it is prose. At first glance it looks like a poem, a thick, narrative poem. On closer … Continue reading →

Discipline is a tricky word for artists. It is for me, at least. As a noun, there’s the larger, inclusive meaning: a branch of knowledge and there’s also the practice of training oneself or another to obey rules. Sometimes a … Continue reading →

                        for Pat Schneider  6/1/34 – 8/10/20 Hot cornbread in cold milk. Singing all the way home from Chicopee. The way she said Missouri and diabetes. Her long legs and the sweep of her skirt. Hands steepled before her mouth. … Continue reading →

We take workshops, classes, read books, go to seminars and lectures. We follow the gurus of the writing world who tell us the inside scoop on how to best get our ideas and images on the page. We want to … Continue reading →

Black voices have always unequivocally articulated how white people benefit from being white. Black voices have taught me to listen, to take responsibility for my own level of awareness and to continue to educate myself about racial inequity. In this … Continue reading →

In these weeks full of words like isolation, quarantine, flattening curves, N95 masks, social distancing and ventilators, it can be hard to find our own words. We miss our free-range poetry, and our independently-minded characters. We can feel trapped both … Continue reading →

I hope you and all those you love are safe and well. A friend reminded me how lucky I am to have clean, running water, electricity, a phone and a computer, to have enough food and a sturdy roof over … Continue reading →