When I was young, my family lived with my grandmother for a time in Washington, D.C. , in one of the old neighborhoods with houses of colonial brick and Italianate stucco. Grandmother’s house was a colonial, with perfect symmetry: a window on each side of the front door, three windows across the top, and a little […]
Creative Writing
Free Summer Writing Camp
I have been, like all of us, desperate to make a difference, escape isolation, connect during this time of coronavirus. I have observed during my spring classes on Zoom what a tremendous difference it makes for me and others to simply connect through writing–even on social media. I am not good at making masks. But […]
Summer Writers Plan
Dear Kitchen Table Writers, Below is a list of summer reading I plan to do — and I recommend for you. I’ve dipped into each of these and am eager to find a hammock somewhere and read for hours on end. Share your reading list in the comments! Summer Reading List Let Me Out Here, […]
Hemingway in Pittsboro
I used to think that as a writer I had to hole up in my little room and write and write, and never come out until I was done. But it dawned on me that unlike in journalism, with creative work nobody really cared if I ever finished something. That gets a little weird after […]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Writing Workshop at Meredith
A summer writing workshop is the dreamy creative home for every aspiring writer. Lord knows I’ve been to many of them. I’ll go to many more. But something has changed in my writing life. Now I teach them too. For the first time this year, I’ll be teaching at Meredith College’s summer writing workshops, June […]
Circle City Books Mural in Downtown PBO
Circle City Books has arrived! And it is announcing its presence with a spectacular new mural in downtown Pittsboro. A great place to wander and get in loads of trouble–the store has an incredible selection of high quality gently used books–and a few new ones! I was honored to be included in Georgann Eubanks’ recent […]
Kitchen Table Writers Read at McIntyre’s
We’ve been talking about it for more than two years. First we thought we might read at the General Store Cafe. Then we thought Davenport and Winkleperry. Then, we thought, why not McIntyre’s Books, where the writers read? Peter Mock checked the schedule. There was a Sunday afternoon open. Most writers could come. So we […]
The Writing Insurrection
Every Tuesday morning I walk into the General Store Café and set up my books and timer on a round table in the back room. Joyce and Vance have kindly given permission for me to run a workshop for writers back there, during a time when the room is closed and mostly quiet. We are […]