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.)
To the Class of 2009
In Praise of Speed Bumps(or "A Summer Breath") For the Laurel School Class of 2009 on the joyous occasion of their commencementon June 11, 2009, 10 a.m., at Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio. Thank you, Anne Juster, chair of the Board of Trustees, members of...
On Writing A Commencement Speech
As my friend Nancy points out in a message this morning, this is a particularly hard week of the year for commencement speakers. This is the week that they are all writing their speeches. These speakers know: Nobody wants to hear it. Students want to get that diploma...
Bad for Good
How can you write poetry?In this morning's "Steve Martin Takes the Banjo Seriously" in The Wall Street Journal, there is a small mention of one of the many songs he's written. (Fact: Mr. Martin might have been among the world's top banjo players....
On The Art of Conversation
Do you suffer from Shiny Thing Syndrome?Millions of Americans are afflicted with this debilitating condition. Every day, they miss opportunities to learn about important topics — fail to connect deeply with the people around them — trade superficial wordplay for...
Welcome to the Interview
For 18 years, I owned an advertising agency. (I still get to work there and love it more now that I don't own it.) "Gosh, People Come And Go So Quickly Here."Like Dorothy observed in Oz, there was too much turnover for my taste. Most of the employees...
Welcome to the Interview
For 18 years, I owned an advertising agency. "Gosh, People Come And Go So Quickly Here." Like Dorothy observed in Oz, there was too much turnover for my taste. Most of the employees left for ordinary reasons. People said "That's the way things are these days." I...
My Favorite Cab Ride
"Do you know baseball?" These were the first words spoken to us in conversation upon arriving in New York. This was a trip, just for fun, for Alisa and me about 15 years ago. The flight attendant had said, "Bye bye." The taxi dispatcher had asked,...
Memorial Day
This weekend is about more than beer and brats, of course. It's about those who served. (Served more than beer and brats, of course.)And it's about those who are serving right now.And, Strangely, It's About Those Of Us Who Never Served Memorial Day...
The Wumpus
I don't know what to think of this fellow.Sometimes, entertainment shouldn't be funny. The Odd Couple is about despondency, divorce, anger management, obsessive compulsive disorder, and slovenliness — yet it is a hit comedy every time it is staged. The movie...
Who Loves You, Baby?
Thanks to Nils Root for quoting his father in a recent midterm exam in the creativity class (and for permitting my quoting it here):"What you think of me is none of my business."I just love that.I'm simply not that interested in what others think of me....
