Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

What, Why, How: Jack Ridl

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What: I have been trying to write poems that evoke poetry for 51 years. I have also written essays, lots of blurbs, and every Thursday since the 2016 election a commentary with an appropriate poem. [In Time: Poems against the present administration] For 38 years I was a college teacher, all at the same college. Since retiring I have continued teaching One on One sessions and a monthly workshop in … [Read more...]

Feral cat inspires memoirist to write children’s book

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Even a feral cat who has never lived indoors can find love, a family, and a home. The Story of Little White Faye Rapoport DesPres and I share a publisher, Buddhapuss Ink. I know from reading Faye's memoir, Message From a Blue Jay, that she loves cats. I also know that she's passionate about conservation and animal protection. When I learned she was getting ready to launch a children's book … [Read more...]

The Choice, a short film by Desiree Cooper

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The moment we read the stick, some of us buckled on the bathroom floor....Undecided, we waited too long. Decisive, we were instantly clear about what to do. We were happy about it until we weren’t. (from "First Response," published in the short story collection Know the Mother, by Desiree Cooper) First Response: I first heard Desiree Cooper perform her stunning short story titled "First … [Read more...]

Women Writers Share their Celebrity Idols

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Oh, my teeny-bopping heart Think back... did you have a teen idol who made you weak in the knees? Did you pore over 16 Magazine or Tiger Beat for the latest gossip about your favorite star? Some of us us don't want to admit that we cried our eyes out when Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman, thus cruelly dashing our dreams that we might one day become Mrs. McCartney. But I know you're out … [Read more...]

Horseplay vs assault

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How can anyone call attempted rape by a seventeen year-old "rough horseplay" or "simply part of the natural order of things. Boys, figuring out how to be men” --? Don't believe that for a second. As soon as a boy or man claps his hand over a girl's mouth, it becomes an act of violence. Don't breathe a word When I was thirteen or fourteen, a boy tried to drown me in a swimming pool at the … [Read more...]