For my readers who’d like to help those affected by Fuego in Guatemala, in-country associates of a trusted friend have set up a GoFundMe page where you can donate. Financial assets are easiest, since the things their displaced compatriots need most are difficult or impossible to ship, much less deliver to those who need them…
Category: Social Issues
Here Be Monsters
I seem to be talking and thinking about monsters a lot these days. In part, that’s because I joined Twitter. Rather, I should say I began using Twitter, since I created an account long ago, but never used it for anything other than following Duotrope posts. Now I’m following N.K. Jemisin, Anne Leckie, Tor Books,…
The Nature of the Beast
What is the true nature of the human beast? In the movie Wonder Woman, Diana agonizes over the fact that the war continues even though she has killed Ares. Captain Trevor tells her that maybe the horror of war wasn’t contained in one malevolent being. Maybe a little part of that darkness lives in us…
Humanity Reflected in a Homeless Man
My essay “Dancing Man,” in which I discuss the humanity reflected in a homeless man, was accepted by Across the Margin. It’s a true story, a memory of my encounter with a joyous street person who left an indelible mark on my heart, on my soul. I see people on the streets all the time,…
Knowing I Don’t Know
A few weeks ago, I got a rejection from a magazine for my short story “Upshot.” Rejections are part of a writer’s life, but this one was unusual in that along with the “sorry” came some helpful insight. The main character is a Mayan native living in isolation in the cloud forest region of Guatemala,…