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". . .Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries — realists of a larger reality.

"Right now, we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximise corporate profit and advertising revenue is not the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship. . . .

"Books aren’t just commodities; the profit motive is often in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable — but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can…

For a writing workshop, my students and I had to pick a news event that sparked a strong emotion and learn more about it. I picked veterans affairs. I am now an avid reader of Military.com

In my writing workshops, we are working on paying attention. I am asking my students to pick an issue, something that has recently caught their attention, and follow it. Learn its history, study it. The subject should spark some kind of emotion, something that makes you FEEL something--curiosity, awe, admiration, anger, fear, angst. I decided to pay attention to a situation that made me mad. I got mad when Vermont senators voted to confirm Doug Collins as head of the VA, even though I knew very little about the guy. So I decided that rather than just be mad, I would follow him. Recently, I added to my daily reading list Military.com, which reports…

So I wondered: Why has the biography of a Civil War veteran been banned from reading lists in school for military families?

I don't know about you, but when I see a list of banned books, I immediately want to read ALL of them, one right after another, asap.

So when I read that the U.S. military had banned a biography of Albert Cashier, a civil war veteran, from reading lists in elementary schools for military families, I immediately had to find out who the bloke was. Albert Cashier? Never heard of him.

From Wikipedia: “Albert D.J. Cashier, born Jennie Irene Hodgers, was an American soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Cashier adopted the identity of a man before enlisting, and maintained it until death. Cashier became famous as one of at least 250 soldiers who were assigned female at birth and enlisted as…

Hello, Saturday. This morning, I got out my sewing machine and began making a nice cushion for Mr. T’s bony butt. Because when your adopted country is taken over by fascist kleptomaniacs, it's nice to have something soft to sit on. As I worked, I listened to Bernie’s speech on the Senate floor earlier this week, which begins with a quote from Lincoln and ends with a call for all Americans to “come together." Now I am listening to Spanish guitar music on YouTube.

Here was our week at 3 rue des Hêtres, as well as I can remember:

Sunday: I'm not sure we had Sunday this week.

Monday: A blur.

Tuesday: I went for a walk. I know because I took a picture of a duck.

I put together this PDF for an earlier writing workshop, one hosted by Kimball Library of Randolph, Vermont. I think it helps a writer to have a particular audience in mind, even (and perhaps especially) an audience of one. At least, it helps me. Who are YOU writing for?

“Darling? What’s wrong?”

—Mr. T, over breakfast this morning

I first learned about “broken heart syndrome” from my friend Lynne Cox, who was diagnosed with the condition a few years ago. At the time, she was grieving the losses, in quick succession, of her mother, her father, her dog Cody, and the home where she had lived for most of her life. She was 55.

Lynne is a long-distance swimmer who specializes in cold water. At age 15 she swam the English Channel in record time, faster than any human being had ever done. She has swum in skanky water to protest pollution, shared the waves with sharks and jellyfish and ice floes. She once reunited a baby whale with its mother, with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard, who spotted her as she stayed with the lost baby. She later wrote about that encounter, beautifully, in her book…

After yesterday's hand-wringing, I woke up this morning to an email from Bernie, my senator, saying, in essence, "Get over it. We have work to do."

The man is tireless.

"There are a number of Republicans who won by small margins," he wrote, "And, let me tell you, these guys do respond to phone calls and emails. So, if there is a piece of legislation you disagree with, get on the phone and call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-2131."

Bernie went on to outline some of the nasty legislation that will be coming up for a vote, starting with the Republicans' budget resolution. (I've copied and pasted his entire email below.)

So here's my question: Have YOU ever called the Capitol switchboard before? Because I haven't. I guess I just assumed--haha--that the folks we put in charge of preserving our democracy were actually trying to do that.

So I could…

I normally post this diary to Facebook, but friends have asked me to post it elsewhere, so here goes. (It's also on Substack, in case you hang out there.)

Day 250. Is anybody else feeling a sense of futility right now? Bear with me for a moment. Here is my week in review.

Monday, January 27. My friend S. told me I need to go for a walk every day. She thinks I am agoraphobic. (I am not, but S. has her own opinions about things.) We were drinking tea at the kitchen table in C’s house when S. suggested that I need to get out more. C. invited me to come round on Friday for a French lesson. I said I would, but after I left, I remembered we have lunch guests coming on Friday. So I sent a text to C., explaining. “That’s okay,” she texted back. “S.…