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When I was in graduate school in Houston, I worked a summer at a busy upscale grocery store, and employees who worked on the floor were obligated to bag groceries in the checkout area whenever there was a shortage of baggers. I saw the CEO standing behind a register bagging groceries when he was in…
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I will never forget this: I got out of my car and walked directly to the circle of teachers standing outside the elementary school in Alamance County, North Carolina. When I asked why they were outside, a teacher smiled: “Operation Warm is in the gym fitting children for coats.” A small child ran up to…
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I’m so damn lucky! I have worked with some pretty incredible human beings over the years, Professors from Hunter College, the CWP and the English Department of the University of Houston, and the Bennington Writing Seminars in Vermont. I was given some bad-ass notes on my writing from teachers over the years. Here’s one that…
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We just finished a long in depth course: Introduction to Judaism by the Union For Reform Judaism. I am a lifelong learner, in many ways a perpetual graduate student, because while I have read many articles by a variety of writers and organizations on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, I’m still learning more about the nature…
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I read hundreds of books every year, and therefore my social media analytics are tracking authors of all kinds. Unfortunately, there is one book in particular that would make for a great discussion: “Why is this memoir a good example of how NOT to write a book?” I would be afraid to ask, “What do…
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A couple of weeks ago we were traveling westward on Highway 70 from Hillsborough to Mebane, North Carolina, when Deep Purple hacked my husband’s Spotify account. Not one bit sorry, my husband kept his eyes on the road, hands firmly grasped on the steering wheel, and I watched a smile come over his face. Seated…
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For several seasons when I was a young person I worked as a waitress at a private Jewish country club in Hopkins, Minnesota: https://www.oakridgecountryclub.net/About_Us. Two shifts, sometimes three shifts a day. On my first day the dining manager told me a member wanted to speak to me and he led me to a separate room,…
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I used to teach a theme-based composition course on the farmers’ market and the homemade food Renaissance. Half of the required booklist is on the food manufacturing crisis; the other half poems and fiction on subjects like vegetables, flowers, nature, Adam and Eve. We watched documentaries on farming. Daily my students heard me rant on…
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My husband and I have been preparing children’s clothing, toys, and furniture donations for local charities. Being on the phone with people who do this kind of work reminded me of how important it is to listen. In his groundbreaking book “Working,” Studs Terkel taught the world a lesson on empathy: Only when we ask…
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I am honored and thrilled that my poem “Pollen: North Carolina” has been accepted for publication and will be included in the 2023 eEdition of http://PoeticaMagazine.com A heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Michal (Mitak) Mahgerefteh and poetry editors at Poetica Magazine. https://www.bennington.edu/mfa-writing/publication-news ☮️ #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity
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Mary Louise Penaz 