I wrote poetry first. Then I went on to write essays, opinion pieces, and other creative nonfiction. For five years I wrote feature stories (hundreds of them) for The University of Texas. I've ghost written a memoir, helped write and edit legislative research, and written opinion pieces that argue for fair policies for adult students. And I still write poems.
At its heart, I believe writing is about honoring our own stories and the stories of others. I believe writing can be a powerful force for social change.
I send out two regular newsletters. In my Substack, A Hill in Austin: Notes from a Street in An American Boomtown, I reflect on the transformation of the city I call home and what it’s meant to stay still in a place so insistent on change. In This Week in the Poetry Box, I share what’s currently on display on my curb.
“My Students’ Future Lives,” personal essay, Editor’s Prize finalist, Missouri Review, February 2023
“To Make It Through,” personal essay, The Sun magazine, April 2021
“Nontraditional College Students Deserve More Support,” op-ed co-written with Dr. Suchitra Gururaj, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 2019
“Goodyear,” flash essay, Pembroke Magazine, Spring 2019
“Two Hives Honey", a Farmer’s Diary feature, Edible Austin, Spring 2019
“When My Memories Became His Memories,” Cleaver Magazine, December 2018
“On Enchanted Rock,” River Teeth, Fall 2018
"The Whole Parade," a tribute to Anthony Bourdain, Barrelhouse, August 2018
"When Art and Activism Collide," commentary, written with Abe Louise Young, Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, June 2018
"DeVos' Deregulation Helps For-Profit Colleges Defraud Students," op-ed, Dallas Morning News, March 2018
"Forgive Me, South Dakota," flash essay, Hippocampus, March 2018
"Arguing Short-Term Rental Regulation--From Experience," op-ed, TribTalk, January 2018, written in response to rebuttal of my earlier op-ed
"We Must Emphasize Reading for the Sake of Our Democracy," op-ed, Huffington Post, December 2017
"Laws Restricting Short-Term Rentals Protect Our Quality of Life," op-ed, TribTalk, November 2017
"Go Fund Me Is No Substitute for a Good Health Care System," op-ed, Austin American-Statesman, June 2017
"Free Minds, Empowered Citizens: Changing Lives with the Humanities in Austin," article, Diversity and Democracy, Winter 2017
"How College and the Government Deny Poor Students a Second Chance," op-ed, Washington Post, August 2016
“Food for the Journey,” article, Edible Austin, Summer 2015
“Why Angelina Jolie,” essay, Role/Reboot, March 2015
“The Unique Challenges of Marrying in Midlife,” essay, Role/Reboot, September 2012
“What Comes First,” article, Edible Austin, Winter 2012
“The Three Ages of Woman,” essay, The Sun magazine, December 2008
“Life Above the Superhighway,” essay, Oxford American magazine, Spring 2008
“The Ripple Effect: Promoting Poetry,” feature, 2007 Poet’s Market
“Opening Doors to Poetry,” feature, 2006 Poet’s Market
“Timeshare,” essay, Gettysburg Review, Spring 2004. Pushcart Prize nominee, special mention.
"In Praise of the Humble Chapbook," feature, 2004 Poet's Market
“5 Ways to Share Poetry with the World,” article, Writer’s Digest, April 2003
"It Wasn't a Storm," poem, in Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, Issue 48, 2018
"Learning Texas," poem, in Weaving the Terrain: 100-Word Southwestern Poems, Dos Gatos Press, December 2017
“Carrion de los Condes,” poem, Ruminate, 2015
“Signal 99,” short story, Atticus Review, 2015
“Woman on Trapeze,” poem, Borderlands, and on display at Blanton Museum of Art as selection of Blanton Poetry Project, 2008
"People are Tearing Things Down" and "Trampoline," Malahat Review, 2004
"Paradelle For My Parents," The Paradelle, Red Hen Press, 2005
Weeks in This Country, poetry chapbook, Kent State University Press, 2000
“I have to cast my lot with those who
age after age, perversely,
with an extraordinary power
reconstitute the world.”