Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

Surviving a Native American Boarding School

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History 101 - a poem This devastating poem by my friend and fellow alum Mihku Paul is about her grandfather, a residential school survivor who helped raise Mihku. Their family was "deeply impacted by what happened to Gramp." Native American Boarding Schools (also known as Indian Boarding Schools) were established by the U.S. government in the late 19th century as part of an "enforced" … [Read more...]

Queen Bee and the Bee’s Knees: my friend, poet Mary Ann Wehler

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The following is my reading from Mary Ann's memorial service: A Variation on the Ordinary I met Mary Ann in the mid 90s  through Margo LaGatutta when I attended the readings for the anthology Variations on the Ordinary. I thought Maryann was amazing. To me she was the Queen Bee and the Bees Knees. The first time we got together outside of readings was after she’d workshopped with … [Read more...]

Puppy love is real: meet Cowboy

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More than just pets If you believe that the love you feel for your four-legged bestie is real, science has your back. Studies show dogs affect our oxytocin levels much the same as human babies do, so the bond we feel is just as great. Our pets are more than companions. They are truly family. We adopted our ten-year-old corgi, Clementine, when she was a year old. She helped us through a tough … [Read more...]

Dream Poetry and the Value of Dream Journals

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Insights Dreams offer a fascinating insight into our psyche. I believe they reflect our deepest concerns or worries, and that much of the imagery in our dreams is personal. You and I might both dream of a horse, but the meaning of that horse would be different. For many years, I kept a dream journal. I found the act of writing out a complete dream when still in bed worked the best. If I … [Read more...]

My mini book tour

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Recently Don and I took a trip along the Outer Banks of N. Carolina to promote Gordy and the Ghost Crab to bookstores and gift shops. A fellow author asked me for details, so I thought I'd share what I did on my blog. Let me first say that selling doesn't come easily to me. The fear of rejection is real. In fact, I was reeling after the response from the very first independent book store I … [Read more...]