BEST OF BARD: MAY 2018
I would like to dedicate this blog to Ashlee and Eric. Ashlee, I will miss your laugh and our talks on female emancipation, spirituality and weird people. Eric, I will … Continued
Krista Bremer on Love and an “Accidental Jihad”
I recently returned from a writing retreat in the Great Smoky Mountains. One of the teachers at the event: Krista Bremer, associate publisher of The Sun Magazine, taught workshops about … Continued
Letter to a Future Lover: Ander Monson’s Essays on Ephemera
Ander Monson is a master bibliophile. He’s president of the Tucson Poetry Festival, editor and publisher of DIAGRAM journal, and Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the … Continued
“The Secret” Is Out
There’s a podcast called By the Book, in which comedian Jolenta Greenberg and producer Kristen Meinzer read various self-help books and put each of the books’ tactics into practice. Described … Continued
Zadie Smith and Politics Through the Lens of Self
For the February installment of Talking Books @ LBPH, we read Swing Time by Zadie Smith. This was the first Smith book I’ve read and initially, I was intimidated by … Continued
Writing Advice from Stephen King
American adults read or listen to an average of 12 books per year. Stephen King, on the other hand, reads seventy or eighty. He calls himself a “slow reader.” In … Continued
Analyzing the Dream State
I recently read a profound book by scientist and sleep researcher Rosalind Cartwright called The Twenty-four Hour Mind: The Role of Sleep and Dreaming in Our Emotional Lives. I’ve always … Continued
Everyday Spiritual Fulfillment
Spiritual fulfillment doesn’t come only to those who renounce mainstream society to live in an ashram in India. At least that’s what Rick Fields, Peggy Taylor, Rex Weyler, and Rick … Continued
A Course in Miracles: A New-to-Me Classic in Modern Spirituality
A sucker for self-help books, I was excited to crack open my latest find: A Course in Miracles (DB 43840). This mystical book came to me highly recommended from both … Continued
Elaine Dundy and the “Lost Year”
We’ve (almost) all been there: Our “lost year” (or two, or three). Sometimes it’s after high school or college; sometimes it’s after a breakup, a divorce, or a loss; sometimes … Continued