Poetry for Dogs
My book, Throw Me A Bone: Poetry For Dogs, includes 31 poems written purportedly for a canine audience.
It’s available on Amazon — http://poetryfordogs.com — and priced to generate funds for three humane societies. (Writing poetry is not my get-rich-quick scheme, not a pyramid of dogs with you at the bottom. No.)
A Rose By Any Other Name
Rehearsals are well underway for To Kill A Mockingbird. And, among the many issues with which we must wrestle — beyond stage blocking, memorization, dialect, intention — is the prevalent and dramatic use of the word: "nigger." Let's Set The StageSeveral...
Get out!
Sunny. Warm. Comfortable in shirtsleeves. Lush from recent rains and a morning of heavy fog, the day-long dew in the air cools each breath.Our campus is truly beautiful today. Students are lounging on the grass -- and throwing Frisbees -- and reading -- and talking on...
Time To Set Some Goals
To my Ohio State creativity students: Maybe I haven't been asking the right question. Each year, I ask my creativity students to list their goals. But, well, something isn't happening. It's not just you. The same thing happened last year. It seems I rarely...
How to Get Into Yale
Dear Uh, Artie?,Hello. My daughter is interested in attending Yale. We were wondering how soon is too soon to begin preparing for the process. She is a freshman in high school. Is there someone who could give her pointers on what classes could best prepare her,...
When Words Matter
Question: Is talk cheap? Answer: Not in a rich life. I've been inside a few highly successful companies recently, taking notes on the words they choose. And how the words they choose lead to functional or dysfunctional teams. Here are some examples of phrases that...
Are You Keystone Curious?
Rob asked to borrow my projector, so I was showing him how it works. Because projectors used to cost a lot of money — and the replacement light bulbs used to cost hundreds of dollars — I can get pretty urgent and self-important on the care and proper use of the...
Summer School, 2010
The daffodils are quickly being replaced by dandelions, meaning that summer is on the way. In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of summer school.For me, summer school is always a syllabus, assigned to me by me as my own teacher. How...
Making Peace With The Radio
I've long recommended turning off the television. And, during recent years, I've recommended turning off radio in all its many political and harmonic forms. It's not that I so dislike the media. It's that someone — someone — has to advocate for...
How To Watch Theatre
"I have a confession to make," said an educated, intelligent, thoughtful, soulful, artistic fellow. "I hate to say this to you, but I hate theatre." It was a surprise to hear, but I'm always glad for candor. Why Do You Hate...
The Enemy of the Good
The following belief is a trap: "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." This mantra, implanted in youth, made a lot of sense back then. It was good learning. I'm grateful for the teachers who taught me this. But now, that belief is dysfunctional and...
