It begins in high school. It begins with music. It begins with songs by Metallica, Slayer, and Black Sabbath. And it begins with a band, original music, writing lyrics. And yes, it begins in high school, but really it begins earlier. This Friday, October 20, is the NCTE’s National Day on Writing, which celebrates the …
Now into the fall, early October—I’m reminded of a September two years ago, passing through Tunkhannock on my way home from my son’s first cross-country invitational of the year at Misericordia College. It was wet, having rained for several days, and I pulled my car into the rest stop that borders Bowman’s Creek along Route …
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I want to share a poem from my collection about Montrose, Pennsylvania. Maybe I’m feeling nostalgic. Maybe it's an easy way to get up on the horse again here at The White Whale. Maybe it’s just time.    It’s been a long hiatus—nearly a year and a half without publishing to my blog. As some of …
Not long ago I started another history piece about Montrose, Pennsylvania, and I wanted to reference the Endless Mountains. Traditionally, this name refers to an area of Northeastern Pennsylvania that comprises the counties of Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming. And it’s not really mountains, as much as endless ridges and valleys. Elk Mountain, home to …
Although Walden by Henry David Thoreau has fascinated me for years, Louisa May Alcott’s Hospital Sketches is new to me. Obviously, many people know Alcott, another prominent writer from Concord, for Little Women. This past year my daughter read the book for the first time, which is much more than I can boast, but I’ve …
Continue reading "Two Experiments: Walden and Hospital Sketches"
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