My Personal Creative Nonfiction
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Not that Kind of Food Writer
I didn’t attend a culinary institute. I haven’t cooked in any of New York’s finest restaurants. I haven’t eaten at any of them, either. I can’t drop the names of any famous chefs and tell stories about my experiences with them. I can’t say that I was sexually harassed or humiliated or lauded by any… Continue reading
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Bread
I was six years old when I first tasted homemade bread. In the hills of Western Maryland, in a cramped kitchen with outdated appliances and faded wallpaper, my grandmother filled Mason jars with fruit preserves, pickles, tomatoes, and green beans. She grew salad greens in her tiny backyard and baked her own cakes and pies.… Continue reading
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Writing about Abusive Parents: What’s in a Title?
When I first saw Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died among my Amazon book recommendations, I decided not to read it. First, I don’t usually read memoirs by celebrities. I prefer to read memoirs by writers. McCurdy earned some recognition as a Nickelodeon child star, so she is among the many celebrities who… Continue reading
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Blog Post, Interrupted
Several weeks ago at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention, I presented a paper titled “Othering the Self: The Potential Benefits of Assigning College Students to Write Personal Narratives from a Second Person Point of View.” I intended to blog about my presentation immediately after the conference. But when I returned … Continue reading
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Tomatoes
I’m taking a class on food writing. This is my first attempt at a writing assignment. I used to grow bushels of tomatoes every summer. Early Girls, Better Boys, red cherries and yellow plums, sometimes Romas. Once I grew San Marzanos. Every year my plants were healthy, their leaves the warm tone of summer grass… Continue reading
Do you write about yourself and your experiences? Do you write about traumatic events in your life? Or, do you struggle to find time and motivation to write?
If so, this blog is for you.