Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

A Male Horse in the Nude: Creativity

By

It's important to nurture creativity in children, even if it's a little startling, or, um, not quite what we had expected. Accuracy in art, if not colors My granddaughter, Lil, age 6, had brought a coloring book of horses to amuse herself in a restaurant, so she and I colored a picture together while we waited for our food. I loved coloring as a child. I still enjoy the soothing sweep of a … [Read more...]

Lev Raphael on Writer’s Block

By

Learn from reading, even books you don't like Next time you want to give up reading a particular book because 1. it bores you, 2. you can't make sense out of it, or 3. it makes you bang your head on the wall, keep reading. You can analyze it and learn from it as a writer. Maybe. Or it still might be a huge waste of your time. But isn't learning from it a far nobler idea than tossing it from a … [Read more...]

Derek’s Black Hill Spruce

By

Nature can help us understand so many things about life. My eldest child took his own life in the fall of 2011 at age thirty two. As a mother, no matter how many counselors, doctors and friends tell you suicide isn’t the parent’s fault, you can’t help but wonder what you did wrong. Didn’t I cuddle him enough? Should I have been stricter. Was I too strict? The bottom line was: I failed as a … [Read more...]

A Writer Visits Père Lachaise

By

  I feel as if I only touched the surface of the beauty of this extraordinary cemetery in Paris. For a writer, Père Lachaise is a magical place of wonder and inspiration at every turn. I'm glad we took a tour, but even the guide told us there isn't enough time to see everything.  The most romantic story is the one of Abelard and Heloise. A few highlights … [Read more...]

Visiting Jim Morrison

By

At last, I was here I stared at his monument in awe, flushed and a little woozy, thinking about how much this long-haired, leather-clad icon has meant to me over the years. The makeshift gate at Père Lachaise Cemetery wouldn't let me get any nearer than 20 or so feet. At last I was here and yet this was the closest I'd ever get to him. It was a bittersweet moment that … [Read more...]