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SPRINGSTEEN, THE UNCOMPROMISING ARTIST AND WORKING CLASS HERO

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  I joined a couple of friends, one of whom has a late October birthday we were still celebrating, to see Deliver Me From Nowhere , the Springsteen biopic starring the unforgettable Jeremy Allen White (of THE BEAR series , and before that, SHAMELESS series). To be honest, my expectations were not that high, as biopics often turn out to be slathering portraits mainly composed of colorful heaps of praise and lacking an equanimous lens, neither of which turns out to be true here. In retrospect, low expectations is probably the best way to go see a film. White's performance as Springsteen and acting in general I cannot say enough about. Both he and Springsteen have that same grounded, gritty vitality and ooze a similar kind of unvarnished, sexy masculinity. White is 32 and plays Springsteen when he was the same age, working on his sixth album, Nebraska (which came out in 1982), a time when he was plagued by demons from his past and a nagging depression. Deliver Me From Nowhere is a ...
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No Kings 2: PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER

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October 18, 2025 around America hundreds of thousands protested the trump regime and its injustices , declaring loudly and proudly, we want no king . The count of protesters throughout America on this day is approximately seven million. In Youngstown, Ohio , at least 1,000 people gathered with signs in front of the Mahoning County Courthouse to make their voices for American democracy heard while passing cars honked their support. The best takeaway from this day of protest is the realization that we are not, after all, being riven as a country as some government officials hope and expect due to their actions, but in fact, united in protest and #resistance against this regime's unjust laws and policies. Here are a handful of photos I took on No Kings 2 . First, Susie B., a longtime activist, with an up-cycled sign from the Bush years . Secondly, some guy in a funny getup with an achingly true sign. And finally, an artist who spent the day scrawling important sayings on cement wi...
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A LIGHT FOR MOTHER EARTH AND ALL HER CREATURES

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I don't know anyone of my generation who grew up with the image imprinted in memory of a young, beautiful, starry eyed explorer on the cover of National Geographic alongside chimpanzees , which she was dedicating her life to understanding, who is not mourning the loss of this great teacher and helper now. That remarkable model of hope for young women who choose to take a unique and deeply personal route into learning about the world, who became a hero for animals in the wild, and for Mother Earth and all of humankind was Dr. Jane Goodall , and the impact she has left in her wake cannot and will not ever be able to be estimated.  If you have not yet seen her final message to the world on Netflix , please do yourself the favor and watch her deeply moving, personal message. Her lessons, like those of HH the Dalai Lama , are profound, universal and simple: Be kind to all. Appreciate Mother Earth and every sentient being on it. Be gentle.  There are other imperatives too, which D...
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THORN & BLOOM and "Gloria"

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My prose poem, "Gloria," was accepted by two publications--first, Thorn & Bloom , which is put out by Red Rose Thorns , and a week later, by NonBinary Review , a magazine from Zoetic Press . I always sign a contract with the first taker and, in this case, I'm not sorry I did, as Issue 3 in which "Gloria" appears in Thorn & Bloom , is featured both online and in magazine format and the cover and layout are beautiful. For me, as a writer and reader, there is still nothing as gratifying as having writing available to hold and peruse in an actual magazine or text. Online reading comes secondary to reading actual books for me. A couple of days later, I was invited to read at a poetry Zoom and read " Gloria," a pantoum , and a flash to an audience of poets from California. Each of them had their own works to share, some of which was quite good. Here's the lovely cover of Thorn & Bloom , Issue Three, and "Gloria": #ThornAndBloom   #...
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TO WRITE

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"To Write, first of all, is not to be seen," relays the narrator of The Possession, Annie Ernaux's 62-page novel, written like a journal entry, on the subject of jealousy. Someone else I am reading wrote that it's best to write in secret, as if no one will ever read one's thoughts. Or maybe this was Ernaux's protagonist, who is a writer, earlier on, while in the initial throes of her obsession.  Most writers I've known treat their craft like an obsession. How often have I heard, even out of my own mouth, "I have to write. If I don't, I'll go crazy." Well it's true, even if it's equally true that everything we set down is not necessarily fit for public consumption, or even publication through Amazon.  It is a noble endeavor to commit to the act of writing, regardless of outcomes. The process inevitably leads to truths, and so it's a brave act too. The arts are not just an exercise for the ego, they are one of the few ways we ca...
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REFLECTING ON WHAT REAL SUCCESS IS

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Someone I hold very dear recently wrote to me about her refusal to go by the cultural standard in America where one must pretend always to be successful, that one's life and work are in great shape and failure nowhere in sight. Failure is intrinsic to human life and we tend to forget that in a competitive society. My friend's statement prompted me to question my own ideas of what success is. To what standards do I hold myself? Who selected them? What does it mean to succeed in life? Are the values of our culture, my values? What do I consider success to be? As a writer, I've long grown accustomed to rejections from journals. It's part of the writing process which writers have to learn to take in stride. I've developed a pretty good sense of equanimity about that by now, taking into consideration a journal's timing, themes, taste, preferences, how many editors are reviewing my work. There are multiple factors to consider and sometimes it seems like a literary acc...
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PUBLISHING TODAY

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It will come as no news to those struggling to get books published these days that times are especially tough right now. An author friend who finally got an agent last year and is trying to sell what I don't doubt is a well-written novel has struggled through 26, that's right, 26, rejections from publishers since then. For starters, the market is saturated, as more and more people want to write books, even if they are neither readers nor experts nor experienced "writers," even in terms of understanding Grammar and style. AI and self-publishing both support these kinds of authors and they are creating challenges for those more practiced in the field who need to generate interest in and sell their work too. Another big problem is that marketability has taken the place of originality in terms of what publishers now seek. How likeable are you as a writer? How likeable is your style? These are questions that would have made most, if not all authors from the past with any ...
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