• How to tell a good poem from a bad poem

    You know bad poetry Poetry often makes even poets cringe because everyone has seen and heard bad poetry so often that the form itself becomes taboo, and people are prejudiced against it. What ultimately makes a poem bad is the failure of the writer to convey that deep and moving experience to his reader that led him to write the poem.   “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” – William Wordsworth (who better to quote about the worth of words!)   A poet’s profession is to paint a picture with words, wasting none. A novelist tells a story and…

  • Dumpster Kitties – a coffee table book idea, and a reality

    What is a ‘dumpster kitty’? When my husband and I moved into our new apartment at the end of August, we noticed quite a few stray cats. Our upstairs neighbors are feeding them (and I caught myself adding food to the dish one day). Well, after about two months I’ve come to realize these cats are a family. The one pictured above had a litter of kittens (and by litter I have seen two). I assumed the father was the black and white kitten my husband named “Sylvester,” (and the upstairs neighbor kids call “Frisky”), but this kitty may be a surrogate mom. (You know how kitty daddies just hit…