I continue to wrap up my residency by sharing some of my own writing produced in response to previous prompts I’ve offered over the last six months. While I imagined sharing multiple pieces this week, I instead have one to share. But it’s one I really like—at least right now. This poem came out of…

After weeks (months) of offering prompts related to finding bits of poetry in our daily lives across Racine County, I shared last week I intend to offer some of my own writing in response as near the end of my residency. This week I share with you a few poems I’ve written in response to…

My favorite poems are the ones that make the most ordinary things of life seem like the most special, noteworthy, extravagant. There’s something that really shocks me, every time, about a poem that takes the simple things—eating an orange, the interior of an apartment, a conversation over dinner, a walk along the river—and makes them…

It’s the time of year when I find myself thinking about food more, and not just food itself—but also where it comes from and how it gets to my table. A big part of the joy of summer for me is the seasonality of food. It feels like food comes into focus this time of…

Earlier in my residency, I wrote a post titled “Poetry of a Day.” The prompt was to notice the small things throughout a day that make our lives poetic, to notice the things that shine as we move through a day and string them together into a poem. I will say, it’s been feeling especially…

Most of my best days in Racine live in memories with friends at a young age. I remember weekends of soccer games and eating oranges at halftime and camping out in a pal’s backyard annually. I remember endless days of basketball in the neighbor’s driveway and biking around the neighborhood, a true feeling of freedom….

Spring has taken its sweet time arriving here in Racine. But after weeks of noncommittal rainy, windy weather, it seems we have arrived at a steady springtime rhythm. It looks like robins in the nest over our patio and daffodils already past their bloom. It’s all-day sun and grilling out on week nights. It’s reaching…

“Home” is a word full of meaning, meaning that changes from person to person. When I hear the word home, I think of Racine, where I now live and grew up. But beyond that, I see my current house, as well as the houses I lived in as a child. I think of the places…

Racine is full of families that carry names that carry reputations and stories, generations and legacies. If you have one of these generations-deep Racine names, you probably find it hard to move through the community without being asked if you’re related to so-and-so or told a story about a relative, whether you know them or…

On a day like Easter, I’m surrounded by family. Holidays are a priority for my family. We all gather, every year, every holiday. There’s a sweetness to it: Seeing everyone in the same spaces year after year, eating the same shared dishes year after year. It’s a time to catch up, and it’s where our…