by Ellen Steiber That evening Nonie shows up at my house, carrying a cardboard box she can barely lift. I see her struggling with it as she comes up the walk. She has to set it down to ring the doorbell. By this time, I’m downstairs, opening the door. "What is that?" "I told you," […]
by Genevieve Valentine That Thursday at the lesson Arciela came in, raised an eyebrow at the shoes. "Well," she said. "Let’s see you stand." I settled my shoulders (ankles together) and shifted my weight to the insteps of my feet. The glitter rasped as my heels came together. Amazing sound. Arciela said after a moment, […]
by Howard Gayton Tuesday, 15th November Day two: This morning I smudged with sage the second space that we are using to rehearse. We started with ‘Zazen’ meditation, kneeling in a circle and concentrating on our breath. The meditation is a simple pointer to how we can change the energy of a space with our […]
by Kevin Brockmeier I was leaning forward on my stone, eating a boiled egg one of the farmers had given me for his passage, on the morning the monk arrived. I watched him hobble around the end of the stables and follow the path toward the river. His robe was coated so thickly with dust […]
In our modern arts, as in ages past, women storytellers have understood this best. Margaret Atwood, Olga Broumas, Carol Ann Duffy, Denise Duhamel, Sandra Gilbert, Theodora Goss, Liz Lochead, Lisel Mueller, Lisa Russ Spar, Gwen Strauss, Jane Yolen, and many other contemporary feminist poets have used fairy tale themes to powerful effect to portray the […]